Zion Rangers Assist In Stopping Car In High Speed Chase

Park dispatch received a request for mutual aid from the Washington County Sheriff’s Department late on the morning of July 3rd. The county had received a call from an OnStar dispatcher who advised that a stolen vehicle from Las Vegas had been remotely disabled by the OnStar system and was currently located in LaVerkin, Utah, 30 miles from the park. A sheriff’s deputy was on scene and had detained two people. An altercation ensued and shortly thereafter the deputy reported that his patrol vehicle had been stolen by one of the two people. Washington County reported that the stolen patrol vehicle, a marked Dodge Charger, was headed toward the park’s South Entrance at a high rate of speed.

Incoming visitor traffic was backed up at both the South and East Entrance stations of the park. Rangers responded by blocking outgoing visitor traffic at the South Entrance. As suspected, the operator of the stolen vehicle ran the South Entrance by traveling through the outbound lane.

The Zion Mount Carmel tunnel operation was shut down, with all traffic held, further facilitating the passage of the stolen vehicle through the park. A ranger and a Kane County deputy placed two sets of spike strips on the exit lane at the park’s East Entrance. With four flat tires, the stolen vehicle traveled only another eighth of a mile outside the east boundary before coming to a stop. Rangers assisted Kane County deputies with the ensuing felony arrest.