SALT LAKE CITY — A Salt Lake City man has been arrested after he allegedly slammed his car randomly into an SUV with multiple children inside on Christmas Eve.
Michael Norvell, 51, faces numerous charges, including attempted homicide, aggravated assault, reckless driving, and driving under the influence.
According to police, a man from out of town was unloading his children from an SUV at around 3:45 p.m. Sunday near 300 South 1100 West when Norvell rapidly accelerated and slammed his car into the victim’s SUV. To avoid injury, the man said had to jump on Norvell’s car to avoid being run down or pinned.
The impact threw the unidentified victim to the ground, but he was not critically injured. None of the children inside the SUV were injured.
According to arrest documents, multiple camera angles show Norvell inside his vehicle parked in the middle of the street and waiting for the victim to exit the SUV. As the victim exited the vehicle, Norvell is seen accelerating with no brakes directly where the victim was standing.
After the hit, Norvell attempted to flee, continuing westbound on 300 South and running a stop sign at the intersection at 1000 West. When officers arrived on the scene, several neighbors guided them to Norvell.
Police say when he was arrested, Norvell told officers, "I hit him on purpose."
A preliminary investigation found no connection to Norvell and the victim, and the incident appeared to be random.
