ST. GEORGE — Following her alleged attempt to evade police on Sunset Boulevard, a woman — who was found with an unrestrained child in the vehicle — was arrested on multiple charges.
On Saturday evening, police say they noticed a vehicle heading east along Sunset Boulevard with a driver who was not wearing a seat belt. When the officer turned around to follow the car, the driver reportedly sped up before turning left onto North 1100 West in St. George.
According to charging documents filed in support of the arrest, instead of pulling over, the suspect drove behind a building where the vehicle jumped the curb, continued along the sidewalk and then headed west along Sunset Boulevard where it nearly caused a collision.
Authorities say the suspect continued heading west, using the bike lane and right shoulder to pass other motorists before hitting a curb, which launched the car onto the sidewalk. From there, the driver turned right onto 1250 West with the officer in tow.
The officer noted that 1250 West is a dead-end street, so there would be no way out “unless the vehicle came back down the hill and it would have to come into contact with me.”
The vehicle was stopped near the end of the street where the driver, Rachelle Lee Mecham, 35, was ordered out of the car, along with the front seat passenger.
According to the report, Mecham told officers that she “ran” because she had a suspended driver’s license, the status of which was later confirmed during a background check. The officer noted there was a young child sitting in the back of the vehicle who was unrestrained and lacking any type of child safety seat.
Mecham was arrested and transported to Purgatory Correctional Facility. During a search, staff reportedly recovered a glass container of suspected fentanyl along with paraphernalia.
She was booked into jail facing two third-degree felony charges for failing to stop at command of law enforcement and transporting prohibited items into a correctional facility.
She also faces reckless driving, reckless endangerment, failure to provide a child restraint device, possession of paraphernalia and driving on a suspended license.
The officer requested Mecham be held without bail, citing her reckless driving pattern and the disregard for “her child’s life and the life of those around her during this incident.”
The request was granted and she remains in custody without bail at the writing of this report.
This report is based on statements from court records, police or other responders and may not contain the full scope of findings. Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.
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