Midvale neighbors said man chose dead-end street as he fled from police

MIDVALE — Police arrested a man Wednesday after a brief pursuit ended on a dead-end street, and after neighbors said the man went into a house and changed clothes to continue his escape.

According to Unified Police Sgt. Aymee Race, the chain of events began when officers spotted a vehicle driving erratically around 12:50 p.m. and attempted to make a traffic stop near 7100 S. State St.

"The driver of that vehicle decided to crash into one of our officers and flee the area," Race said during an interview with KSL.

Race said a short pursuit ended near 420 East and 7200 South when the suspect went down a dead-end road.

"(He) just decided to make a quick right on the north side of our buildings up there, and then came through all of these backyards," said Leslie Woods. "Then, (he) hit this tree, knocked ... the right front wheel off his car, and the car landed over there at the other side of the tree."

Woods said she watched as the driver then ran into a home nearby, where the Askvig family lives.

"I heard something, and then I saw him, and I went to tell my mom," said young Robby Askvig.

The family said it appeared the driver wanted to make a quick change.

"He took one of the kids' shirts and changed his orange shirt for a white shirt, which is one of our kids' shirts, and grabbed a scooter and ran off," said the father, David Askvig.

Arlo Askvig said the man didn't get far.

"Once he left our house, he went through the backyard and onto the canal," the boy said, pointing. "One of the police was right here and jumped the fence and caught him."

Race said officers arrested 39-year-old Jeffrey Levie on suspicion of multiple offenses, including fleeing from police, aggravated assault on a police officer and burglary.

"We're just glad that, as far as the safety of our officer and our citizens that we protect daily, they're all safe and that we have the person in custody who committed these crimes," Race said.

Neighbors, including Jennifer Smith, remained in disbelief through the entire ordeal.

"I get freaked out, so I stayed in the house and watched through the window," Smith said. "They caught him. They got the car. Everything is a mess."

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