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SALT LAKE CITY — A man who was running through traffic on I-15 fell from an off-ramp to his death Sunday night after being shocked with a Taser by troopers who were trying to stop him, the Utah Highway Patrol said.
The man, identified Tuesday as Anthony James Valdez, 46, of Bluffdale, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Just after 8 p.m., UHP received multiple calls about a man running through traffic on I-15 near 600 North. Troopers initially could not find the man. But just after 9 p.m., they spotted him in the northbound lanes.
Troopers slowed traffic in the area as they attempted to catch the man. He ran onto the 600 North off-ramp from northbound I-15 and jumped over a cement barrier, according to a statement from the Utah Department of Public Safety.
"Multiple attempts were made to obtain compliance. A Taser device was deployed to keep him from going back into the roadway. The male fell from the off-ramp an estimated 30 feet into the residential yard below," according to the department.
West Valley police will now conduct an independent investigation into the incident.
