Man falls to his death after being subdued by a Utah state trooper

A man fell to his death after a Utah state trooper subdued him Sunday, the Utah Department of Public Safety said.

The Utah Highway Patrol received reports of a man running through traffic on Interstate 15 in Salt Lake City just after 8 p.m., DPS said in a news release. The man was found an hour later in the northbound lane, fleeing from officers when they asked him to stop.

“Troopers worked together to control traffic by attempting to slow down in the area and apprehend the individual to prevent them from causing an accident or being struck,” DPS said.

Despite repeated attempts to get him to stop, the man fled and jumped over an exit barrier. Officers used a Taser “to stop him from driving back onto the roadway,” DPS said.

The man fell from the exit into a residential yard 30 feet below. Officers from multiple agencies attempted life-saving measures, but the man was pronounced dead at the scene, according to DPS.

DPS did not identify him.

“The Utah Highway Patrol initiated an Officer-Involved Critical Incident (OICI) protocol investigation into the incident,” DPS said. “The West Valley Police Department will be leading this investigation.”

The West Valley Police Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The investigation is ongoing, DPS said.