A Utah Highway Patrol trooper who plunged from a freeway overpass during a high-speed pursuit about two years and eight months ago is back on full duty, conducting traffic enforcement. Trooper Steve “Odie” Myer returned to full duty on September 17, according to the Utah Highway Patrol, closing out a recovery that included multiple surgeries, 45 days of hospital and rehabilitation care, and having to relearn how to walk.
A Fall During a Chase Near I-80
The ordeal began on February 13, 2024, when Myer was deploying spike strips during a pursuit near Interstate 80 and 7200 West. According to Fox 13, Myer fell 32 feet from the overpass during the incident. Charging documents cited by KSL described the fall as coming from a 34-foot bridge after the fleeing driver avoided the spikes, while a later KSL account put the fall at approximately 33 feet. The exact height has varied across reports, but the severity of the injuries has not been in dispute.
Myer was flown to a hospital by a Utah Department of Public Safety helicopter crew, per the same KSL report. Responders at the scene, the helicopter crew, and medical staff all provided lifesaving care in the hours after the fall, based on details reported by KUTV. Doctors performed three surgeries to repair his heart along with a shattered pelvis and ribs, KSL reported.
Months of Rehab, Then a Slow Return
Myer spent 45 days in the hospital and a rehabilitation facility before beginning the long process of relearning how to walk, Fox 13 reported. By December 2024, roughly ten months after the fall, he had returned to office duty, working 20 hours a week, according to the same KSL account. Even then, Myer said he hoped to eventually get back on patrol and ride with the motor squad again, though he acknowledged that would take time.
Myer had already said he wanted to return to work. After multiple surgeries and physical therapy, that goal came to fruition: he returned to duty, and the department said the law enforcement veteran — whose tenure has been reported variously as 34, 38 or 39 years across different outlets — is now back to conducting traffic enforcement and attending motor events.
Charges Filed in the Underlying Chase
The pursuit that led to Myer's fall also produced criminal charges against the driver, identified as Sammy Swickey. Salt Lake County prosecutors charged Swickey with two felony counts of failure to heed an officer's call to stop, according to KSL. He also faced an infraction for running a red light, along with additional allegations involving drug paraphernalia and driving without a valid license, the outlet reported.
For Myer, the return to the highway marks the end of a recovery that stretched across about two years and eight months, as reported by KUTV. The Utah Highway Patrol confirmed his return to full duty, pointing to the surgeries, physical therapy, and relearning to walk that brought him back to the job he held before he fell from the overpass near Interstate 80.
