Driver who ran over Utah officer called police on himself

A truck driver responsible for fatally driving over a Utah police officer called police on himself due to paranoia, court documents reveal. 

42-year-old Michael Jayne is facing an aggravated murder charge after fatally striking a Santaquin, Utah police officer in early May of this year when the officer tried to conduct a traffic stop. 

Police initially began searching for Jayne’s tractor trailer on northbound Interstate 15 after receiving calls from Jayne himself “that someone was riding on the back of his truck and was being followed by the Hells Angels,” reported KMYU news.

An officer caught up to the rig and pulled it over. As the officer was speaking to Jayne, a woman in the cab, now known to be his girlfriend, put a note up to the window stating “Machael Jayne took me,” and “HELP ME.” She was soon able to escape the truck cab while Jayne was speaking with the officer. 

 “The female ran towards the police cars parked behind the semi truck with her hands up screaming that Michael was going to hurt her. Despite being detained, Michael began driving the semi truck North on i15 and made a sharp U-turn coming back towards the officers and the female,” the affidavit states. “Michael struck one officer, killing him on scene. The female believed Michael was still going to come after her and got into a police vehicle trying to get away from him.”

After running over the officer, Jayne fled on foot and eventually stole at least one pickup truck. 

“Jayne used the truck as a battering ram to back out of the garage without opening the garage door. Jayne then fled to Vernal where he was witnessed by officers driving the stolen Ford F-150. Jayne fled from officers and a pursuit ensued. Jayne ultimately crashed the truck and was taken into custody,” an affidavit reads.

“While speaking with the girlfriend, officers learned that her and Jayne were in Beaver, Utah, the previous night. Both used Methamphetamines while they were there. After Jayne used meth, the girlfriend stated Jayne got really paranoid and started to become violent,” as written in the affidavit. “Jayne is on federal parole in California.”

“The female reported Michael drove trucks for a living but his mailing address was out of Redding, California. Michael arranged for the female to fly out of Idaho to meet him in Arizona for a truck hauling job he was on. The female reported they made their way to California and then through Las Vegas where they did truck repairs on the morning of Saturday, May 4, 2024,” the released documents read. “The female described Michael’s behavior as getting violent. Michael stopped at they Flying J truck stop in Beaver, Utah,” where he reportedly did more methamphetamine, “and told the female to get out of the truck.”

The woman says Jayne then held bear spray in one hand and a knife in the other when he demanded she get back into the truck. 

“The female did not believe Michael would use the bear spray in public and hid her face. Michael came to the same side of the bench as the female and placed the blade of the knife over her clothes into the area of her kidneys. The female agreed to get into the truck but requested he gave her the bear spray. Michael and the female stopped to attempt to sleep and advised Michael jumped out of bed and began yelling about Hells Angel gang members being after him and needing to call the police,” the released paperwork reads.”Michael began erratically driving, causing the female to severely fear for her life. The female stated she was bouncing around in the bed area of the truck while Michael put his seat belt on and began speaking with 911 dispatchers. The female stated Michael acted aggressive and violent towards her and that he thought she was a Hells Angel gang member.”

“As per my training and experience, drug users who use Methamphetamines often have delusions, lack of sleep, tremors or twitching, paranoia, agitated or aggressive behavior, and have impaired decision-making capabilities. Given the above-mentioned statements, it is probable that Jayne’s blood would contain illegal substances, more specifically Methamphetamine, due to his belief he was being followed by Hells Angels when there were none, and his statements that people were hanging off the back of the semi-truck,” an investigator wrote in one of the documents. “This would also explain the girlfriend’s statements that he became aggressive and violent demonstrated by his actions this morning (May 5).”

The murder charge Jayne is facing could result in the death penalty.