A Naples City Police chases a Ford Bronco through Vernal at speeds over 90 mph to Roosevelt
- Travis Uresk
- Apr 9
- 4 min read
By Travis Uresk
4-9-25
Naples, Ut. | April 9th, 2025 |
Naples City Police Officer McDavid was patrolling 1500 East when his radar indicated a vehicle coming up behind him was traveling 75 mph in a 45 mph zone.
The officer pulled to the side of the road to verify the vehicle's speed, and his radar read 75 mph for a second time. As the vehicle passed, Officer McDavid activated his emergency equipment and notified Dispatch that he was attempting to pull a vehicle over by the Top Stop at 500 South US-40 heading westbound.
The vehicle description was given to dispatch: a White Ford Bronco with an unknown license plate at this time.
Dispatch asked Officer McDavid if he was currently in pursuit. He replied that he was unsure if the Bronco had seen him yet.
After about a quarter of a mile, the Bronco began to accelerate, reaching speeds of 80-85 miles per hour as it approached Main Street in Vernal. The vehicle continued traveling at a high rate of speed down Main Street, continuing westbound, reaching speeds ranging between 85-90 miles per hour. The Bronco continued westbound on Highway 40, heading towards Walmart.
After passing Walmart and proceeding out of Vernal City, heading westbound on US-40, the vehicle picked up speed, accelerating to 100 miles per hour. The Bronco continued westbound, reaching a speed of 103 mph traveling toward Roosevelt.
As they reached Roosevelt City limits, Officer McDavid was informed by Dispatch that the Rosevelt City Police Department was preparing spike strips to stop the Bronco. RPD set up two spike strips, and both failed.
During the pursuit, the Bronco went into the oncoming lane and drove in the continuous left-hand turn lane multiple times.
The Bronco continued westbound on Hwy 40 until it crossed Main Street in Roosevelt. Officer McDavid slowed down to avoid the spike strip. When doing this, he momentarily lost sight of the Bronco over a hill. As the officer came over the hill, he saw tail lights turning northbound onto Hillcrest Drive. At this time, the officer lost sight of the Bronco.
Officer McDavid informed Dispatch that he had lost the vehicle and was terminating the pursuit.
After a few moments, Deputy Anderton with the Uintah County Sheriff's Office informed Dispatch that the vehicle had just passed him, heading back eastbound on US-40. Officer McDavid turned around and began heading in the direction where the deputy had seen the Bronco.
Deputy Anderton stated that he was not pursuing the vehicle but still had a visual.
Deputy Anderton then stated that the vehicle was stopped on the side of the road just past McCoy Flats.
Deputy Ogle called out over the radio that they were at milepost 138.5, and he and Deputy Anderton proceeded to felony stop the Bronco.
When Officer McDavid arrived on the scene the deputies had the only occupant of the vehicle detained.
The male was read his Miranda rights and agreed to speak with the officers. He was asked why he didn’t stop when Officer McDavid initially tried pulling him over. The driver stated he had somewhere to be. The officer asked where he needed to be, and he replied he was going home to Bluebell. The male stated that he honestly wanted to see if the police could keep up with him.
Officer McDavid asked the male if he had anything to drink, taken any prescription medication, or taken any illegal substances, to which he replied he had not.
The male was identified as 69-year-old Martin Welch Cozzens.
Deputy Anderton stated that Martin had a THC vape on his person when he was searched. An inventory of the Bronco was conducted, and nothing else of interest was found.
Martin was taken to a patrol vehicle but refused to get in. He was warned to get in, or the officers would assist him in getting into the patrol vehicle. Martin stated that he would not be getting into the vehicle with his hands cuffed behind his back.
After a few minutes, Officer McDavid attempted to assist Martin into the patrol vehicle by grabbing his left arm and lifting him into the vehicle. However, Martin is 6'4" and weighs approximately 250 pounds, and the officers could not get Martin into the rear seat of the patrol truck.
Deputy Roth stated that he would get one of the sheriff's office vans from the Uintah County Jail for transport. Martin was then taken to the shoulder of the road and placed sitting on the ground until the other vehicle arrived.
Deputy Roth arrived with the van, and Martin was taken to the door. He attempted to get into the van but stated that he would be unable to due to having bad knees. After a few minutes of trying to get Martin into the van, it became clear that he was not cooperating and not actually trying to get in. Martin was picked up by five officers and placed inside the transport van.
While Martin was being transported to the hospital for a blood draw, he told deputies that he was ready to do it all over again if given the chance.
In the hospital, Officer McDavid asked Martin to follow the tip of his pen to check his bloodshot eyes. After explaining the test, Martin stated he understood. As the officer began the test, Martin stared directly at Officer McDavid, not the pen. The test was attempted two more times with the same results.
After the blood draw, Martin was taken to the Uintah County Jail.
The court ordered that Martin Welch Cozzens be held without bail.
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