(The wreckage from the crash and car fire. Photo courtesy Utah County Sheriff's Office)
VINEYARD – Two Orem police officers are being credited with saving the life of an allegedly impaired driver after a man drove off an overpass in Vineyard. Investigators say if those officers hadn’t been there, the driver would have died.
It started in Provo, where police reportedly spotted a possible DUI around 8:30 a.m Thursday. Police made contact with the driver, but he reportedly fled the scene and, after a short pursuit, the officers issued an “attempt to locate” on that vehicle.
Shortly after, police got a call about a car matching that description hitting a Fed Ex truck in Orem, then driving away.
Utah County Sheriff’s Sergeant Spencer Cannon says one of their deputies saw that same car passing a school bus loading children, with the stop sign extended and the red lights flashing.
“Just a short time after passing that school bus, the driver of the vehicle lost control and went over a steep embankment,” Cannon said.
The car reportedly went down 25 feet from an overpass near Center Street and Vineyard Road.
“The vehicle immediately caught fire and the Orem officers, who had been nearby, saw the crash and they ran down and pulled the driver out of the car,” Cannon explained.
The driver has been identified as Dustin Scott Butterfield from Salt Lake City. The Orem officers performed first aid on Butterfield until medics arrived to take him to the hospital in serious condition.
Cannon said Butterfield was not taken to jail, but will be summoned to appear in court after he recovers.
“We have learned since that he had consumed alcohol. We believe he was impaired and he’s going to be charged with DUI,” said Cannon.
This is not the first time Butterfield has reportedly been impaired behind the wheel. Cannon said Butterfield is currently on parole and has an extensive criminal history.
“He has multiple convictions for felony DUI, and multiple convictions for felony evading,” according to Cannon.
