DPS NEWS

UHP Lieutenant protects construction crew

On April 2, 2022, UHP Lt. Jacob Cox intercepted a vehicle that entered a construction zone and would have crashed into construction workers were it not for his attentiveness. Here’s the story.

Here’s the number we want you to remember: 224 feet. 

That’s how much space was between Utah Highway Patrol Lt. Jacob Cox and a construction crew working on Interstate 15 in Davis County early in the morning on April 2, 2022. 

That was the point of impact where Lt. Cox intercepted a vehicle that had entered a well-marked construction zone where UDOT contractors were conducting concrete repair overnight. 

Utah Highway Patrol troopers regularly work special shifts to protect construction crews on Utah’s highways. 

Just before 1:35 a.m., Lt. Cox saw the vehicle enter the closed area of southbound I-15 between 700 South and Antelope Drive. 

Only one lane of traffic was open at the time to give construction crews plenty of room to conduct their operations. It’s not unheard of for vehicles to enter the construction zone, especially for construction vehicles or workers in personal vehicles who are arriving on site.

The difference between them and the driver early Saturday morning is that she didn’t respond as Lt. Cox turned on his siren and headlights. 

When he moved his vehicle to intercept her, she swerved to get around him in the No. 2 lane.

“The last place I saw the concrete cutter was in the No. 2 lane,” Cox said. 

So he cut her off with a collision that put his vehicle’s right front corner to her right front corner. The impact spun Cox’s vehicle around. Inside his vehicle his radio and body cam were knocked off. Airbags went off in both vehicles. 

This incident happened in less than 30 seconds. 

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.

The woman was arrested after a preliminary test detected the presence of alcohol. Investigators awaiting the final results of a blood analysis.

On Tuesday, UDOT executive director Carlos Braceras stopped by to thank Lt. Cox

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