Helper City Police Department Press Release
On Jan. 4 at 4:30 a.m., Helper City Police Sergeant Sean Draper performed a traffic stop on a white Honda SUV for a speeding violation in the Helper area on SR6. As Sgt. Draper was speaking with the two adult male occupants of the vehicle, later identified as 23 year-old Emelio Rangel (driver) and 28 year-old Daron McCarver (passenger), he smelled the odor of burnt marijuana coming from inside the vehicle.
Sgt. Draper requested back-up to further investigate his observations, but prior to the arrival of assisting units, the driver put the vehicle in gear and fled the traffic stop heading eastbound on SR6. A 60 mile-long high speed pursuit ensued, which subsequently travelled through the surface streets of Price City and then Wellington City, before continuing eastbound on SR6 toward Green River.
Price City Police, Wellington Police, Carbon County Sheriff’s Office, Emery County Sheriff’s Office and Utah Highway Patrol all participated in the pursuit, during which the speeds of the involved vehicles reached 115 mph.
As the chase approached the I-70 junction near Green River, an Emery County deputy deployed tire spikes, which were successful in incapacitating the SUV, which brought the chase to a safe stop. A high-risk stop was performed and both occupants were safely taken into custody. A search of the SUV resulted in the discovery of a small amount of cocaine, marijuana and drug paraphernalia.
Both subjects were arrested and booked into the Carbon County Jail for multiple traffic violations, along with drug charges and false information to police, as well as felony level fleeing and eluding. The driver claimed he had fled the scene due to thinking he had a warrant for his arrest.
None of the involved persons were injured during the pursuit or arrest process, and no vehicles or property were damaged, except for the Price City Police vehicle, which also hit the exposed tire spikes, flattening multiple tires on the patrol car. Both arrestees were from the Wisconsin area, and they claimed they were en route back home when the traffic stop occurred. They stated they had no connection to the Carbon County area.