Orem man arrested after chase, nearly ramming police cars twice

OREM- An Orem man was arrested Tuesday after police say he twice nearly collided with an officer’s patrol car, leading officers on a chase through the neighborhood’s streets.

Brigham Joseph Aston, 26, was booked into the Utah County Jail on two counts of attempted assault on a police officer, failure to obey a police officer’s stop signal, reckless driving and failure to have a vehicle registration.

The investigation began around 8:20 p.m. Monday when an Orem police officer rushed to the area between 900 South and 800 East to check on a man who had been in the back of an SUV for about seven hours, according to a police affidavit.

But as the officer approached, the driver, Aston, allegedly sped away.

“I attempted to catch up with the vehicle, but due to the high speed I was unable to catch up with it,” the officer wrote in the affidavit.

“I pulled in front of the suspect vehicle again to conduct a risky traffic stop, but was unable to exit the vehicle fast enough before the vehicle continued on its way and I thought it was going to hit me again, but drove up the curb and narrowly missed my vehicle a second time,” the affidavit states.

At this point, a second officer joined the pursuit, which continued for nearly 10 miles.

“During the pursuit, the vehicle disregarded several red lights and stop signs, crossed into oncoming traffic, failed to maintain its lane, significantly exceeded posted speed limits, and reached speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour in a marked 50 mph zone. For the safety of all involved and the public, the pursuit was called off. It occurred in residential areas along major roads throughout southeast Orem/northwest Provo,” the arrest report states.

Officers returned to the area where the vehicle was originally spotted on Tuesday and reported finding it parked nearby in front of Aston’s home. He was arrested a short time later without further incident.