14:51
Sherwood, after making the radio call turns on his emergency lights and starts to pursue the vehicle. He is driving a Ford Expedition and is afraid that the large SUV is not going to be the best vehicle for this tactic. He was hoping that he would be able to keep up with them, in the city it is easy to lose a vehicle because of the size and non-maneuverability of the Expedition.
Angel yells, “What the f*** are you doing? Turn around.” Meagan then goes up a side road and turns around and Angel tells her to “Turn Left.” She was about ready to turn right and go back onto southbound I-15. Then Meagan hears the sirens. Meagan tries to pull down rear view mirror so she can get a view of what is behind her but Angel grabs her wrist and moves it back up. Angel then says, “Go, Go, Go.” There is a car in front of Meagan and she slows down, Angel has already turned around and is now facing backwards in the cab of the truck looking at Officer Sherwood and his vehicle following with lights and sirens on.
Seconds later, Sherwood slams on his brakes because he thinks the suspects have stopped in the middle of the road for no reason. The gap between his patrol vehicle and the Tundra narrows shots are heard. Three shots are fired in the snowy air. Deputy Sherwood’s windshield is shattered, and deputy Sherwood is struck in the head by one of the bullets.
The Tundra speeds up, makes a U-turn running over a snow bank, and drives back past Deputy Sherwood as he sits struggling for life in his now immobile vehicle. They two drive off leaving him behind, the second officer left injured and continues their escape.
Deputy Sherwood blacks out for 30-40 seconds, he has no idea what is happening. He had no vision, he could not defend himself, he could not stand up, he could not open his door, he could not drive, he could not draw his weapon, he could not defend himself. But muscle memory kicked in and he was able to put the vehicle in park and call for help, letting them know that shots have been fired and that he is in need of medical attention.
Alonzo Vantassell, a resident of Lehi Utah is driving his semi tractor trailer on a run to Los Angeles, California. He is traveling on I-15 South Bound when he is passed by multiple officers with sirens and lights flashing, they exit the freeway at Santaquin.
As officer Gurney is driving towards Deputy Sherwood he hears the deputy over the radio, “I’m hit. I’m hit.” Gurney continues west and when he is within sight of the deputy’s vehicle he hears someone say that they have turned around and changed directions. He turns his car sideways grabs his AR-15, a semi-automatic long gun that shoots 223, and pulls on a bullet proof vest. He prepares for the white truck to head past him as it leaves the scene. Cars are passing him as he is preparing to engage the white truck. After a short period of time he looks up and sees people providing medical assistance to the deputy in his vehicle. At that point officer Gurney hears over the radio that the suspect vehicle has been spotted again heading south on I-15. Officer Gurney leaves Santaquin and heads southbound on I-15 with lights and siren towards Mona.
One of those who ran to Deputy Sherwood was officer Arms, a corrections officer for the Utah County Jail. She was living with her mother at the time and was outside shoveling the driveway. She witnessed Sherwood’s vehicle come to a stop and then heard the gun shots. Looking up she could see into the passenger side window. Kneeling on the passenger side seat facing backwards was a male. At that point she noticed that the windshield of the Deputy’s vehicle had been shattered by a bullet. She then ran inside, grabbed a heavier coat and ran towards the scene to render aid to Sherwood. She also witnessed the white Tundra make the U-Turn and speed off.
Officer Arms arrives at the vehicle to render aid. She finds Sherwood in the driver seat of his Sheriff’s vehicle holding his head with blood trickling down his hand. Within minutes the area is flooded with cars from different agencies. And the word is sent out over the emergency radio airways about the shooting of Deputy Sherwood. Sherwood is loaded into the ambulance and it rushes off to the closest medical facility. Chief Deputy Durfee of the Juab County Sheriff’s office arrives and they start looking for the casings in the wet cold heavy snow.
Agent Zack Adams and the other SDI agents are still making their way towards Utah County when they hear word of the second officer being shot. Agent Adams drifts back through the years and remembers the funeral of when his brother was shot. He remembered the endless stream of police cars, their lights silently flashing in tribute and the somber prossession for cars that stretched s far as the eye could see. There was representation from almost every law enforcement agency in Utah as well as representation from Idaho and Nevada. He remembers the talks given by his parents and the Lehi Chief of police at the time. His determination to catch the person responsible for the death of this friend Sergeant Wride and now shooting Deputy Sherwood brings him back as they continue their motorcade of vehicles towards the last reported location of Angel and Meagan.
As Meagan and Angel approach the I-15 interchange again, the truck starts to slide, and almost hits a stop sign. Angel then points behind a vacant gas station and says, “Just go behind there. Just go behind there.” Meagan then drives behind the gas station and stops.
“Why are you stopping?” Angel asks.
“Ive’ got to put it in four-wheel drive.” Meagan figured that if she put it in four-wheel drive it would give her an excuse not to go back on the freeway. She pulls behind the gas station and Angel tells her to “Stop, Stop.” Meagan hits her brakes and slides over the sidewalk and into the road. At that moment a police vehicle passes them by. As she starts to pull out Angel tells her to stop again, and when she does two more police vehicles drive past them. They then proceed to get back on I-15 and head southbound again. Meagan was not able to put the truck in four-wheel drive.
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Next: 24.0 – Chase Continues Southbound on I-15
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