SANDY — A 53-year-old driver was arrested Thursday following an alleged road-rage confrontation with a runner.
A man was running on 1300 East near 10300 South at about 8:20 a.m. when he attempted to cross an intersection. He claims a driver had “pulled forward, going through the stop sign, when he was attempting to go through the intersection,” according to a police booking affidavit.
The runner responded by pointing to the stop sign, then himself and then pushing in the vehicle’s side mirror, the affidavit states.
The driver reacted by getting out of his vehicle while holding an ASP baton. The driver then hit the runner in the head with the baton, knocking him to the ground, according to the affidavit.
“(The runner) stated that (the driver) continued to approach him and he kicked (the driver) away from him,” the affidavit states. The two men then started to “exchange blows,” according to the police. The runner pulled out his cellphone and attempted to record the confrontation, but the driver knocked it out of his hands and then hit the phone with his ASP before getting back into his car.
The man called 911 as he was driving away, and dispatchers told him he needed to return to the scene to talk to police, which he did.
The runner suffered several injuries to his head from an ASP strike and a large cut to his hand while trying to block another strike. Officers noted the runner “had blood running down his back and on his head, along with inside his right ear.” The driver, however, claimed he stopped for the runner and got out of his car after his mirror was pushed to confront the runner — and the runner was the aggressor, the affidavit states.
But four witness statements were filed, and “all statements were in direct line stating that they witnessed (the driver) assaulting (the runner) before (the driver) left the area,” according to the affidavit.
The driver, William Kyle Hackett, 53, was arrested and booked into the Salt Lake County Jail for investigation of aggravated assault, obstruction of justice, tampering with evidence, property damage and failing to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk. All of the alleged charges except for failing to yield come with road-rage penalty enhancements.
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