SUMMIT COUNTY, Utah — A man is facing a felony DUI offense and several misdemeanor charges after a rollover crash in Summit County on Monday.
According to probable cause statement, 39-year-old Chad Douglas Bendixsen is accused of fleeing the scene of a crash near mile marker 193 on westbound I-80. Troopers learned about the crash after a witness called emergency services. The witness also told troopers Bendixsen stole about $200 cash from the center console of the witness' vehicle before running away.
Troopers searched the area and called in a helicopter to help them locate Bendixsen, whom they found wearing camouflage clothing and laying down in some sage brush several hundred yards from the crash scene, the statement said.
According to UHP, Bendixsen claimed to have been the victim of a carjacking in Evanston and another man held a gun to him, but witnesses at the scene told troopers Bendixsen had been the sole occupant in the crashed vehicle.
A trooper reported that he smelled alcohol on Bendixsen's breath, and that Bendixsen refused to give a blood sample or perform field sobriety tests. When troopers checked Bendixsen's driver license records, they found the license had been revoked for alcohol offenses and he was required to have an ignition interlock installed on his vehicle.
Another trooper found the vehicle, which had been towing a house trailer when it left the roadway, did not have an ignition interlock installed.
"Firearms were located inside the passenger compartment of the vehicle. A criminal history showed several DUI convictions within the last 10 years," the statement said.
UHP obtained a warrant to draw Bendixsen's blood to test it for the presence of alcohol, and Bendixsen was taken to the Summit County Jail.
In addition to the DUI charge, Bendixsen faces charges including an ignition interlock violation, failure to remain at the scene of an accident involving injury, failure to operation with a single lane of travel, carrying a dangerous weapon while under the influence and driving on a revoked license. He also faces a charge related to driving as an alcohol-restricted person.
