UHP releases dashcam footage of troopers pulling woman from burning car; suspect charged

CEDAR CITY — A Missouri man has been arrested after taking police on a pursuit Tuesday night that ended with the suspect’s car rolling multiple times and catching fire with a passenger trapped inside. The passenger’s heroic rescue by Utah Highway Patrol troopers was captured on dashcam video.

Richard Scott Davis of Independence, Missouri, booking photo taken Dec. 6, 2017 | Photo courtesy of the Washington County Sheriff’s Department, St. George News

The driver, Richard Scott Davis, of Independence, Missouri, was booked into Washington County’s Purgatory Correctional Facility early Wednesday morning.

A trooper attempted to stop the silver Audi passenger car on northbound Interstate 15 near mile maker 40 after reportedly witnessing the car traveling at more than 100 mph.

See dashcam footage in the video top of this report. 

The pursuit was terminated at mile post 48, and minutes later the car was found near the on-ramp at mile marker 51 after it had rolled multiple times and caught fire, with Davis’ passenger still trapped inside.

Once Utah Highway Patrol Troopers Mike Murphy, Bambi Baie and Joe Pastor arrived at the scene of the rollover, the trio sprang into action. Murphy grabbed a fire extinguisher while Pastor and Baie ran to the passenger side of the vehicle. After cutting her lose from her seat belt, they pulled the unconscious female passenger from the car as flames raged through the vehicle.

Read more: UHP troopers pull woman from burning car after rollover on I-15

Davis was taken into police custody on charge of evading causing death or serious bodily injury, a second-degree felony, along with possessing a stolen vehicle, a second-degree felony, after police learned that the car Davis was driving was reported stolen out of Southern California. Davis is also facing a class A misdemeanor charge of driving under the influence with personal injury.

The evading charge causing death or serious bodily injury stems from the fact that the car rolled multiple times and caught fire with a passenger trapped and injured inside, Utah Highway Patrol Sgt. Jacob Cox said.

“Those conditions meet the requirements of the statute outlined in that charge,” Cox said.

The woman who was rescued by troopers remains in the hospital as of Friday, Cox said, which is the last update he received.

The investigation into the incident is still ongoing.

This report is based on statements from law enforcement or other emergency 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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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2017, all rights reserved.

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3 Comments

  • NickDanger December 10, 2017 at 11:09 am

    I think if you made a composite photograph of every male in the state of Missouri, it would come out looking exactly like this guy.

    Police need to come up with some other solution for catching people besides high-speed chases. All cars have to stop eventually. Police have helicopters, and no one can outrun a radio signal. Instead of forcing these amateur drivers into a situation that always seems to end badly for someone besides the perpetrator, why not just hang back and wait until the suspect vehicle runs out of gas? Impatience? Do they not want to give up jurisdiction, or lose their 15 minutes of fame on the 5 o’clock news? I mean seriously, the guy stole a car – BIG DEAL!!! Is that worth someone’s life?

    I know that in some jurisdictions the police have begun exercising prudence in these matters. They know they are eventually going to get their man so they don’t force the play. That’s wisdom. Of course, it does require temporarily shutting off the testosterone as well as the siren.

  • Bowlinggreen123 December 10, 2017 at 9:17 pm

    They terminated the chase but this punk kept on running. Read the article next time.

    • NickDanger December 11, 2017 at 6:25 am

      I read the article, Kentucky. He kept on running because he knew the chase was still on. If there was never a chase, only tracking of the vehicle, he’d have no reason to run. Get it? No chase. No running. Cops know it, perpetrator knows it. He’s caught from the moment they run his plates and radio for the chopper.

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