Utah
Semi Driver Fatally Plows Into Utah Cop During Traffic Stop
A truck driver allegedly killed a police officer during a traffic stop on a Utah highway Sunday by driving his rig into the officer, police said. A Santaquin police officer and a Utah Highway Patrol trooper had stopped the semitrailer around 6:30am after somebody called 911 to report that a person was standing on the back of the rig as it was headed north on Interstate 15. Spanish Fork police said the man began driving off during the stop, then turned the semitrailer around before driving the wrong way on the interstate. The rig crashed into two police cars and the Santaquin officer, who died at the scene, the AP reports. Police identified the truck driver as Michael Aaron Jayne, 41. He was not yet booked into jail and had no attorney on record to comment on his behalf, police said.
Authorities have not released the dead officer’s name. “Our entire department is hurt. And the family of the officer is hurt because of a senseless act by one individual,” Spanish Fork police Lt. Cory Slaymaker said during a news conference. The stop occurred on I-15 in Santaquin, a town of about 14,000 people 65 miles south of Salt Lake City. Authorities allege that Jayne fled on foot and stole vehicles, including a pickup truck. He was arrested later Sunday following a short chase in the Vernal area, some 160 miles east of Santaquin, according to police. Who was riding on the back of the semitrailer and why was still being investigated, Slaymaker said.
(More Utah stories.)
Utah
Multiple earthquakes detected near Kanosh
KANOSH, Utah — The United States Geological Survey recorded multiple earthquakes near Kanosh Sunday morning, each of them having an average magnitude of 3.0.
The first earthquake, magnitude 3.0, was detected just after 12:30 a.m., with the epicenter located half a mile south of Kanarraville.
The second quake, magnitude 3.2, was detected around 5:45 a.m., with the epicenter nearly five miles south-southwest of Kanosh. This was followed by two more quakes in the same area, a magnitude 2.5 quake coming in around 6:35 a.m., followed by a third around 7:45 a.m, which measured at magnitude 3.3.
This has since been followed by another quake, measuring at magnitude 3.7, being detected around 8:45 a.m. The geographic location in the USGS report places the epicenter approximately over two miles south of the Dry Wash Trail, about six miles south-southwest of Kanosh.
FOX 13 News previously spoke with researchers at University of Utah, who said that earthquake swarms are relatively common. A study published in 2023 posits that swarms may be triggered by geothermal activity. The findings came after a series of seismic swarms were detected in central Utah, within the vicinity of three geothermal power plants.
The study also says that the swarms fall into a different category than aftershocks that typically follow large quakes, such as the magnitude 5.7 earthquake that hit the Wasatch Fault back in 2020.
Utah
Embattled Utah Rep. Trevor Lee loses county GOP convention — but wins enough support to make primary
Earlier in the week, House Speaker Mike Schultz said lawmakers asked the attorney general to investigate allegations of fraud and bribery against Lee.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Rep. Trevor Lee, R-Layton, running for reelection, addresses delegates during the Davis County Republican Party nominating convention at Syracuse High School on Saturday, April 18, 2026.
Utah
A new bar brings the Himalayas to the foot of Big Cottonwood Canyon
Also from Utah Eats: A Utah baker ends his run on a Food Network competition; Lucky Slice’s territory grows.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) The Yeti, a Himalayan-themed bar in Cottonwood Heights, is pictured on Wednesday, April 8, 2026.
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