ST. GEORGE — A pursuit was set in motion Wednesday when a pickup passed a Utah Highway Patrol trooper at more than 100 mph and ended in Hildale with guns drawn.
A Utah Highway Patrol trooper was heading west on state Route 59 near milepost 3 shortly after 5 p.m. when he observed a silver pickup truck also heading west at more than 100 mph.
The suspect was later identified as 34-year-old Lloyd Parley Fischer who was arrested for felony evading and reckless driving. During a background check officers discovered the suspect had four active misdemeanor warrants for failing to appear.
According to charging documents filed with the court, the posted speed limit was 65 mph as the truck continued through traffic at a high rate of speed, which the trooper confirmed when his front-facing radar revealed the truck’s speed at 115 mph.
The trooper activated the emergency lights on his patrol vehicle as Fischer sped past and then pulled behind the truck as it pulled off the right shoulder and stopped.
As the trooper was stepping out of his patrol vehicle, the report states, the suspect pulled away, accelerated, made a U-turn and headed east on SR-9 with the trooper in tow.
Officers contacted the Cedar City emergency communications center and requested that the Colorado City Marshals Office be advised of the pursuit that was headed their way.
Minutes later, the chase entered Hildale city limits where Fischer reportedly reduced his speed to 61 mph and then again to 40 mph as it continued through Hildale.
When the suspect pulled into the driveway of a fenced-in residence on Uzona Avenue, the trooper pulled over and parked just outside the fence and took cover behind a brick wall as he watched for the suspect to exit the truck.
The trooper drew his duty weapon and ordered Fischer to get on the ground, but instead, the report states, the suspect walked toward police with his hands up while holding a cell phone.
Fischer was taken into custody just as backup arrived officers with the Colorado City Marshals Office arrived. Fischer was transported to Purgatory Correctional Facility and was booked into jail facing one third-degree felony count of failing to stop or respond to command of law enforcement, as well as reckless driving and driving on a suspended license, each a misdemeanor.
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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