ST. GEORGE — A woman was arrested following an 11-mile pursuit on two highways, reportedly telling officers she was unaware she was being pulled over,
On Sunday afternoon, a Washington County Sheriff’s deputy noticed a northbound vehicle on Interstate 15 traveling between 80 and 85 mph in an area where the posted speed limit is 70 mph.
The driver was reportedly passing other vehicles and then swerved into a lane where another vehicle was traveling. Near the St. George Boulevard Exit, the deputy got behind the vehicle and activated his emergency lights to conduct a traffic stop, according to charging documents filed with the court.
After several miles with lights activated, the officer activated the siren, changing the pitch multiple times to get the driver’s attention, the report states. But the driver continued north before leaving the interstate at the Hurricane Exit, where they continued east on state Route 9.
The deputy notes in the report that the driver nearly collided with a vehicle in an attempt to pass another car while passing by a Utah Highway Patrol trooper stopped on the side of the road with his patrol lights also activated.
With traffic becoming heavier, the officer made preparations to end the pursuit by deploying a pursuit intervention technique, commonly known as a PIT maneuver. However, he could not do so due to a steep drop-off to the right of the highway where the vehicle would likely be directed during the maneuver. Instead, a set of spike strips was deployed ahead of the pursuit as a safer alternative, according to the report.
Before hitting the spike strips, the suspect became snarled in traffic that had stopped for a red light. The officer, using the loudspeaker on his patrol vehicle, directed the suspect to pull to the right and stop the car — the suspect had nowhere else to go in heavy traffic.
The suspect pulled over and was ordered out of the vehicle at gunpoint. Once in custody, the driver was identified as 45-year-old Karyn Phuong of Vaughan, a city in Ontario just north of Toronto. While speaking with police, the suspect said she was from Canada “and did not know what was going on,” the officer wrote.
When asked to explain the process for getting pulled over by police where she’s from, the suspect reportedly said,” Police in Canada use red and blue lights accompanied by a siren-alarm,” which means to pull to the right and stop, according to the document.
The officer determined the suspect’s failure to pull over was not due to a misunderstanding or unfamiliar practices since, by her own admission, the officer wrote, the driver was aware of how traffic stops are conducted in the U.S.
According to the report, Phuong ultimately agreed that from the officer’s perspective, it was reasonable to believe she was fleeing. She said that was not her intention, but she was unaware that officers were behind her. However, other motorists ahead of the patrol units were reportedly slowing down and moving over to allow them to pass.
The driver was arrested and booked into jail Sunday evening, facing felony charges for evading law enforcement and a misdemeanor charge of reckless driving based upon the driver’s alleged recklessness that nearly caused two separate accidents during the pursuit.
The case was filed on Monday, and Phuong made an initial appearance later that same day. She is scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing on May 9, and until then, she remains in custody without bail.
This report is based on statements from court records, police or other responders and may not contain the full scope of findings. Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.
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