Man torched churches — then ends up in fiery crash after police chase, Utah cops say
A man set fires at three churches in Utah and crashed his car early Tuesday morning after a police chase, cops said.
His silver minivan erupted into flames in Zion National Park, according to a press release from St. George Police Department.
Officials received a fire alarm notification from a Latter-day Saints church in St. George around 4 a.m. Firefighters went to the scene and saw the church on fire, according to police.
Shortly after, a burning tree was reported to officials at another church 3 miles away, police said.
The second call led police to check other churches for fires.
Another church was on fire.
About a mile from the second church, an officer saw a silver minivan parked outside the smoking building. Then he watched a man leave and speed off in his vehicle, police said.
He wouldn’t pull over for police, they said, so they initiated a chase going northbound on Interstate 15 toward Springdale — near Zion National Park.
Officers spiked his car twice in an attempt to pull him over, police said. Eventually, he crashed his minivan at the Canyon Junction Bridge in the national park, and it went ablaze, park officials said in a news release.
He had minor injuries and was transported to the St. George Regional Hospital. His identity has not been confirmed, police said.
One church did not have a fire suppression system, so it had “significant fire damage,” police said.
Investigation is still ongoing. Police ask any witnesses who saw anything damaged or suspicious to call the St. George Police Department Investigations Division at 435-627-4338.
