ST. GEORGE — A driver took officers on a three-hour journey that began with a wrong-way driver report and ended with two injured officers, a combative teenager and a long ride to jail.
The arrest stems from an incident that began shortly after 3:30 a.m. on Tuesday when officers were dispatched to a report of a wrong-way driver on Interstate 15 that had just exited into Hurricane, according to a statement released by the Hurricane Police Department.
While en route to the call, one of the officers spotted the vehicle near 4400 W. State Street and followed the car that continued east at a low rate of speed and was reportedly swerving in and out of the traffic lanes, according to charging documents filed with the court.
The officer estimated the car was traveling 20 miles under the posted speed limit.
With the driver allegedly driving erratically, the officer activated his emergency lights and siren, which had no effect. The driver failed to pull over and instead sped away at more than 65 mph in a 30 mph posted speed zone, then continued east toward what officers would later discover was her residence in Hurricane.
The officer also activated his spotlight, which illuminated the inside of the suspect’s car, where he could see the driver looking back at him in her rearview mirror, according to the report.
When the car stopped in front of a home in the Rainbow Canyon subdivision, the report states that officers drew their weapons and gave numerous commands for the teen to exit the vehicle, orders that went unheeded when the driver pulled the car into the garage and attempted to close the garage door.
The report states that one of the officers tripped the garage door sensor to prevent it from closing as they approached and told the driver she was under arrest for evading, which is when the suspect “told me she was not under arrest,” the officer wrote in the report.
The suspect was also on her cell phone while still sitting in the car, and when asked, she told police she was “on the phone with her lawyer.”
After 10 minutes of giving commands to get out of the car with no response, officers quickly put a plan together to remove her from the vehicle.
Officers approached and broke the car window. Police say when they reached inside, the suspect began kicking at two of the officers as they told her she was being placed under arrest. It was only after one of the officers deployed his taser that they were able to physically remove the suspect from the car, and she was placed under arrest.
“Even after being placed in handcuffs, the female was extremely combative and resisted,” the officer wrote. During a search of the suspect’s vehicle, officers found an open bottle of vodka.
The driver was identified as 19-year-old Ralena Rachelle Clarke, who was then transported to St. George Regional Hospital to be checked for injuries. She was left in the care of the medical staff while the arresting officer was also being treated for injuries sustained during the commotion in the garage.
Minutes later, the officer heard a commotion and ran toward the noise, which is when he found Clarke fighting with one of the police officers and a security guard working at the hospital, the report states.
Clarke was medically cleared and “then removed from the hospital.” While being secured in the back of the patrol vehicle, the suspect allegedly bit one of the officers while a second secured her seat belt. Clarke was later booked into Purgatory Correctional Facility facing multiple charges, including felony evading, three counts of assault on a police officer and simple assault – each a misdemeanor.
The suspect also faces interfering with an arrest, minor in possession of alcohol, an open container charge and reckless driving, along with three traffic-related infractions.
In a request to the court, the officer also noted that Clarke “is a danger to the community for multiple reasons,” and if released, she will continue driving. He also noted that any interaction with law enforcement will likely result in an outcome similar to what took place during the incident. By running from police, the suspect demonstrated she is willing to travel at high speeds “to evade a simple traffic stop,” the officer added.
Ed. Note: A new Utah law generally prohibits the release of arrest booking photos until after a conviction is obtained.
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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