Man and child on foot in freeway traffic leads to arrest

SALT LAKE CITY — A man is in police custody, and a 3-year-old child is with Child Protective Services after Salt Lake City police were called to southbound I-15 on Saturday about a man and child in traffic.

Police had received reports that a pedestrian was on the freeway with a small child near Warm Springs Road in the Rose Park area of Salt Lake City.

Utah Highway Patrol (UHP) Trooper Andrew Battenfield said that by the time police arrived, the adult was on the 600 N offramp of southbound I-15.

The man and child began running into traffic when police tried to contact him, Battenfield said.

At that point, the UHP and Salt Lake City Police Department closed the offramp and safely recovered the child, who is now with Child Protective Services.

The man was taken into police custody. Battenfield said he will be charged with child endangerment.

“There’s a lot of answers we don’t have and may not ever get,” Battenfield said when questioned about a possible reason for this activity.

This story will be updated.

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