CEDAR CITY — An allegedly impaired driver was arrested over the past weekend after police said he fled the scene of a collision and drove northbound on Interstate 15 before being pulled over near Parowan.
Riley Clark Buchanan, 21, was booked into Iron County Jail at 3:35 a.m. Saturday. He faces a single count of DUI, a class B misdemeanor.
According to the probable cause statement filed in support of Buchanan’s arrest, the incident started with a report of a hit-and-run collision at 800 West and 200 North in Cedar City.
“The complainant stated they were hit from behind by a white Dodge pickup truck, which then fled the scene going west towards I-15,” the arresting Iron County Sheriff’s deputy wrote in the affidavit.
The complainant was able to provide police with a description of the driver, along with a partial license plate number.
According to the affidavit, the responding deputy drove his patrol vehicle onto Interstate 15 at the 200 North on-ramp and was able to catch up to the suspect vehicle near mile marker 73 and follow it for approximately 3 miles before initiating a traffic stop.
The deputy then questioned the vehicle’s driver and only occupant, who was identified as Buchanan.
“I observed Mr. Buchanan’s pupils were dilated despite the presence of my LED flashlight, and his speech was slurred and forced,” the deputy wrote, adding that he could also smell alcohol on the driver’s person.
“I told Mr. Buchanan that I had stopped him because he matched the description of a vehicle involved in a hit-and-run in Cedar City and he denied the incident,” the deputy wrote, adding that Buchanan also claimed that the visible front-end damage to his truck had been caused by a collision with a deer a couple days earlier.
However, during a follow-up interview with a Cedar City Police officer, Buchanan reportedly admitted that he had been involved in the earlier crash; he also submitted to a blood draw after police had obtained a warrant.
This report is based on statements from court documents and law enforcement officials 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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