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Utah helicopter chases car, after the vehicle shoots lasers at it

Posted at 3:27 PM, Jan 30, 2018
and last updated 2018-01-30 17:27:55-05

CEDAR VALLEY, Utah – A Utah National Guard helicopter chased a truck Monday night, after the vehicle allegedly pointed a green laser at it.

According to Lt. Col. Steven Fairbourn with the Utah Army National Guard, the incident occurred Monday night around 7:30 p.m. The helicopter was the, “victim of a lazing,” after the truck hit it near Five Mile Pass in Cedar Valley.  Suspects in the truck allegedly lased the helicopter at least five times.

Fairbourn stated that the helicopter, which was built to track vehicles, followed the truck from Stockton to Tooele.

If a helicopter is lased, it could potentially cause temporarily blindness for pilots, and could lead to a crash or other emergency, Fairbourn said.

Utah National Guard Flight Operations communicated with pilots, who then reached out to local law enforcement. Tooele Dispatch contacted the Utah Highway Patrol (UHP), which was able to locate the vehicle.

It was unclear if any arrests were made after UHP located the vehicle.