Man falls to his death after getting stunned by Utah state trooper

A man fell to his death after he was stunned by a Utah state trooper Sunday, the Utah Department of Public Safety said.

The Utah Highway Patrol received reports just after 8 p.m. of a man running through traffic on Interstate 15 in Salt Lake City, Utah DPS said in a news release. The man was found an hour later in the northbound lanes and ran from troopers when they asked him to stop.

“Troopers coordinated to control traffic by attempting a slow down in the area and attempting to apprehend the individual to keep them from causing a crash or getting hit,” DPS said.

Despite multiple attempts to get him to stop, the man fled from troopers and jumped over a barrier on an off-ramp. Officials used a Taser “to keep him from going back into the roadway,” DPS said.

The man fell from the off-ramp into a residential yard 30 feet below. Officers from multiple agencies attempted life-saving measures, but the man was pronounced dead on the scene, according to DPS.

DPS did not identify the man.

“The Utah Highway Patrol initiated an Officer-Involved Critical Incident (OICI) protocol investigation into the incident,” DPS said. “The West Valley Police Department will lead that investigation.”

The West Valley Police Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The investigation is ongoing, DPS said.