ST. GEORGE — A 911 call alerted officers to a wrong-way driver who crashed through multiple road signs and was later arrested by police for suspected driving under the influence and other charges.
Officers were dispatched to a report of a wrong-way driver on Red Hills Parkway on Wednesday shortly before 10 p.m. in St. George.
According to charging documents filed with the court, the caller reported seeing the suspect heading east in one of the westbound lanes at estimated speeds of more than 60 mph.
Patrol units responded to the area in search of the wrong-way vehicle, which is when one of the officers spotted the suspect car near the 200 block of East Red Hills Parkway.
The officer followed behind the suspect who then swerved off the roadway onto the shoulder, where the vehicle struck at least three signposts before being stopped by police.
When asked for identification, the driver handed over a passport — one that officers later learned belonged to someone else, the report states.
The man was ultimately identified as 27-year-old Miguel Angel Reyes-Lanstra, of Washington City. A field sobriety test was administered at the scene, which he reportedly failed, and he was ultimately arrested by police.
During an inventory of the vehicle prior to impound, officers found an identification card issued out of Baja, California that accurately identified Reyes-Lanstra. Officers seized the passport handed over by the suspect and a bank card issued under the same name as the passport as evidence.
Reyes-Lanstra was transported to a police substation where a breathalyzer test allegedly indicated the driver had a blood-alcohol level of .163, roughly three times the legal limit in Utah.
Reyes-Lanstra asked for an attorney when officers asked about the incident and he was transported to Purgatory Correctional Facility. He was then booked into jail facing multiple charges, including one third-degree felony count of unlawful acquisition of a financial card.
Reyes-Lanstra also faces one misdemeanor count each of DUI, providing false information to police and unlawful possession of another’s identification.
Officers also requested the suspect be held without bail, citing “a substantial danger to the community or would likely flee the court’s jurisdiction.”A no-bail hold order signed by District Judge John J. Walton the following day.
The case is currently under review for charges by the Washington County Attorney’s Office and the suspect remains in jail without bail.
This report is based on statements from court records, police or other responders and may not contain the full scope of findings. Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.
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