St. George man allegedly tries to run down pedestrians near 4th of July festival

Stock image | St. George News

ST. GEORGE — A St. George man has been arrested and charged with three felony counts of aggravated assault, among other charges, after he allegedly used his vehicle in an attempt to run down three pedestrians.

Officers were on mountain bike patrol at Legend Solar Stadium for the “4th of July Celebration” when they received a report of a nearby crash at approximately 10:30 p.m., according to a probable cause statement filed by the St. George Police Department in support of the arrest.

Ethan Campbell Hansen, of St. George, Utah, booking photo posted July 4, 2017 | Photo courtesy of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, St. George News

Officers responded to the scene of the crash, located at 423 S. 900 East, where it was reported that the driver of the vehicle and another individual were physically fighting, the arresting officer wrote in a sworn statement.

Upon interviewing witnesses, police learned that a man – later identified as 20-year-old Ethan Campbell Hansen – was pulling out of the parking lot when he hit another vehicle, causing the back bumper of his Chevrolet Trail Blazer to fall off.

Hansen reportedly began to drive away, at which point a witness knocked on his window to tell him to stop, according to the statement. Hansen allegedly looked at the witness, backed up his vehicle and then drove directly at the individual.

“(The witness) had to jump onto the hood to avoid getting hit,” the officer wrote in the statement. “Ethan then got out of his vehicle, walked over to his bumper in the parking lot and put it in his vehicle. He then left the parking lot at a high rate of speed.”

Two other witnesses “stepped out into the road to stop Hansen from leaving” the scene, the report stated. At that point, Hansen stopped and then quickly accelerated while the man and woman were still standing in front of the vehicle.

“(The man) had to jump onto the hood to avoid getting hit,” the officer stated. “(The woman) was hit in the left leg by the front bumper causing her to fall to the ground.”

Hansen was standing outside of his vehicle when officers arrived, according to the report. When officers asked for his identification, Hansen said he didn’t have it on him.

“I then asked him for his name,” the officer said. “He stated he did not want to give it to me. He then told me to punch him in the face and began looking around.”

While the investigation was taking place, officers tried to detain Hansen, but Hansen began pulling away and resisting, according to the statement. Officers subsequently took Hansen to the ground and placed him under arrest.

After Hansen was placed in the back of a patrol vehicle, he reportedly scooted back in his seat and reared his legs in an attempt to kick out a window but missed the window as an officer opened the door.

“As I was attempting to control Ethan in the back of the patrol vehicle, due to him kicking, he leaned forward towards me and attempted to bite my arm,” the officer stated.

Hansen was transported and booked into the Washington County Purgatory Correctional Facility.

The Washington County Attorney’s Office filed an information in 5th District Court accusing Hansen of four third-degree felony counts of aggravated assault and assault by prisoner, two class B misdemeanor counts of interfering with an arresting officer and failure to disclose identity and two class C misdemeanor counts of criminal mischief and failure to remain at the scene of an accident.

Hansen remains in police custody as this report is published.

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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Twitter: @STGnews

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2017, all rights reserved.

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2 Comments

  • mmsandie July 7, 2017 at 9:34 am

    Biting an officers arm is pure protein, he should go to Switchpoint and get a balanced meal

  • SteveSGU July 7, 2017 at 7:32 pm

    Don’t let this uncontrolled idiot into the public!

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