RIVERDALE -- A Utah Highway Patrol trooper was led on a chase Friday which took him through north Davis County, before it ended with the suspect's arrest in Riverdale. Joseph Stoltenberg, 23, a transient who listed Nebraska as home, was booked into the Weber County Jail on charges of felony evading, possession of stolen property and two counts of aggravated assault. UHP Trooper Brandon R. Whitehead said the chase began in South Layton at 4:39 p.m., when he saw a van bearing stolen Arizona li-cense plates.

Whitehead attempted to pull the van over in Clear-field, but Stoltenberg failed to stop and continued north at speeds between 55-70 mph. Stoltenberg evaded two at-tempts by assisting officers to spike his tires by swerving around the spikes.

Whitehead said as Stolten-berg approached the I-84 merge in Riverdale, he encountered heavy traffic due to rush hour and slowed to about 30 mph.

He then continued traveling in the inside median. Whitehead said that prior to the 31st Street exit in Ogden, the driver moved to the right shoulder of I-15 and barely missed two pedestrians working on a stalled vehicle.

At that point, Whitehead said he moved his patrol car ahead of the van onto the shoulder, and Stoltenberg rammed his car from behind.

He then drove through a chain link fence and continued northbound down Parker Drive.

Whitehead said that as Stoltenberg approached 31st Street, he slowed to about 35 mph, and Whitehead performed a PIT maneuver (Pursuit Intervention Tech-nique), in which the pursuing police car can force the pursued vehicle to abruptly turn sideways, causing the driver to lose control.

At that point, the van left the roadway and crashed into the Weber River. Officers found the suspect hiding beneath debris and a blanket in the vehicle.

mwilliams@davisclipper.com