A man fleeing from police after striking and killing a Santaquin police officer on Sunday
morning was apprehended in the Vernal area. This took place after a pursuit ended with
the suspect, 41-year-old Michael Aaron Jayne, crashing west of Vernal on Highway 40.
According to the official report from Lt. Cory Slaymaker, the Utah Highway Patrol
Richfield Office received a 911 call at 5:56am on May 5th about an individual standing
on the back of a semi trailer as it was traveling Northbound on I-15. “A Santaquin Officer
and a UHP Trooper located the semi in the area of I-15 Mile 244 around 6:27 AM and
conducted a traffic stop. During the traffic stop the driver of the semi fled and drove
northbound a short distance, turned around the wrong way, then struck the Santquin
Officer, his vehicle, and a UHP patrol vehicle. The Santaquin Officer died on scene after
being struck by the semi.” The semi driver fled on foot and was believed to have stolen
multiple vehicles while at large fleeing for several hours. The White Ford F150 truck,
stolen out of Sanpete County, was spotted in Uintah County and after a short pursuit,
Michael Aaron Jayne was apprehended after crashing west of Vernal. Highway 40 was
closed down for several hours and traffic was diverted.
