FALLEN OFFICER • Law enforcement officers from throughout multiple agencies pay their respects as the body of their fallen officer was transported to the medical examiner in Taylorsville.
SUSPECT • Michael Aaron Jayne was apprehended after an hours long manhunt Sunday morning after he hit and killed a Santaquin police officer on I-15.
By Myrna Trauntvein
TN Correspondent
A semi-truck driver who allegedly hit and killed a Santaquin police officer on I-15 early Sunday was apprehended over 150 miles away after fleeing the scene. Residents in Nephi were affected when a “shelter in place” warning was issued following the incident. Those planning to attend Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints services at 9 a.m. were sent home. A shelter-in-place order was also issued for residents at Mona, but that order was lifted just before 10:15 a.m. Those in Sanpete County received the same notice. At a news conference Sunday, Lt. Cory Slaymaker with the Spanish Fork City Police Department said that the “very traumatic incident” started just before 6 a.m., when the Utah Highway Patrol (UHP) received a 911 call about an individual standing on the back of a semi trailer as it drove north. A Santaquin police officer and UHP trooper responded to the 911 call, located the reported truck 30 minutes after the call, and performed a traffic stop on I-15 near mile marker 244. “During the traffic stop, the suspect, identified as 41-year-old Michael Aaron Jayne, fled the scene in the truck and headed northbound before turning around and driving the wrong way,” Slaymaker said. “The truck hit the Santaquin officer, his car and the trooper’s vehicle.” The officer was dead at the scene. Slaymaker said that Jayne then fled on foot and, in an effort to escape, stole multiple vehicles, including a white Ford F-150 in Sanpete County. Jayne was later located near Vernal, and police engaged in a short pursuit before he crashed the stolen pickup. Jayne was taken into custody in Vernal, Slaymaker said. Prior to Jayne’s location in Vernal, a “Blue Alert” was issued. “Blue Alerts” are issued whenever a law enforcement officer is injured or killed. Utah Highway Patrol closed both the northbound and southbound lanes of I-15, where the officer was struck in the critical incident, as officers investigated the crash. It was later opened in both directions. “Our entire department is hurt,” a Santaquin Police lieutenant said of the officer’s death. Later Sunday afternoon, members of the law enforcement community formed an honor line as the body of the Santaquin police officer was led into the Office of the Medical Examiner in Taylorsville. Dozens of police officers on motorcycles and in patrol vehicles escorted the body of the fallen officer on I-15 from the scene of the incident to the state medical examiner’s office. Ahead of the ambulance were 23 motorcycle officers, followed by 11 vehicles from the Santaquin police. Trailing the ambulance were a fire truck, followed by police vehicles from other agencies, including Spanish Fork police and the sheriff’s offices of Utah and Juab counties. As rain and snow fell, people and other emergency vehicles lined overpasses in Utah County to pay their respects. “Nephi City Police Department is offering their deepest condolences to the Santaquin City Police Department and especially to the family of the fallen officer,” said the NCPD in a comment. “Let us come together as a community to show our respect and to honor an amazing Officer. We offer our support to our brothers and sisters in blue and know that Nephi City Police Department is here to help in any way we can during this hard time.” “Our hearts are broken from the loss of our fellow brother in blue. We send prayers and condolences to his family, his fellow workers and the community he has served,” said Juab County Sheriff’s Department in a statement. “We appreciate his years of service in keeping his community safe as well as the sacrifice of his family. We stand in solidarity with our brothers in blue who protect and serve our communities everyday.” “Let us join together as a community to honor the memory of this fallen hero and offer our unwavering support to the Santaquin Police Department during this difficult time. Our thoughts and prayers are with them,” the statement continued. Lt. Mike Wall, with the Santaquin City Police Department, said, “Our entire department is hurt. And the family of the officer is hurt. Because of a senseless act by one individual, we have family members who will miss their father at their nearing wedding. But I can assure you, we as a police department will stand up and we will be there, and we are one family.” Daniel Olson, the mayor of Santaquin, said, “This is a difficult day, a day that tends to rock a community that’s very tight-knit and caring.” “This loss is one of those difficult times that we will struggle with for some time, and we will do our best supporting each other, loving one another, and loving these men in blue that serve us every day,” Olson added. In a social media post, Gov. Spencer Cox expressed his condolences for the officer: “Devastating news from our law enforcement community this morning. Please keep this officer’s family in your prayers. Our hearts are broken and we give our unending gratitude to all those who protect and serve.” Cox later held a press conference, where he talked about what the tragedy means to Utah and expressed his gratitude for law enforcement officers.
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