DAVIS COUNTY, Utah — A Utah Highway Patrol trooper is being hailed for his heroism after protecting UDOT workers from a driver who had entered a construction zone.
Just before 1:30 a.m. on April 2, Lt. Jacob Cox was positioned in his patrol vehicle when he saw another vehicle enter the closed area on southbound Interstate 15 in Davis County.
Despite Cox turning on his sirens and headlights, the female driver did not respond and swerved when the trooper moved in to intercept her.
As the driver moved to within 224 feet of the construction crew, Cox successfully rammed his SUV into the woman's vehicle to stop her, spinning him around and knocking off his radio and body cam.
The entire incident took place in under 30 seconds.
The woman was arrested after a test detected the presence of alcohol.
"This is the type of heroism we see from Utah Highway Patrol troopers on a regular basis. They stop wrong-way drivers. They protect the public and they protect our construction workers. We are grateful to UHP and to Lt. Cox that these workers were able to go home safely last week," read a statement from UHP.
A spokesperson with the construction company expressed gratitude for the trooper's actions.
"It's extremely dangerous. We're only a couple of feet away from everybody that's traveling 70-80 miles an hour down the freeway, and the only thing that protects us sometimes is just a barrel," said Jesse Meldrum, the director of health and safety at Rob Wadsworth Construction. "He's a hero. He saved some lives that night, for sure."
