SALT LAKE CITY, Feb. 26 (UPI) -- A family of Japanese tourists got more excitement than they had probably bargained for on their holiday drive through Utah.

Utah Police Lieutenant Brad Horne said he saw a Hertz rental car driving erratically on I-15 near the border, and thought the driver might be drunk. But when he turned his police lights on, the car only moved faster.


Horne followed the car on a seven-mile chase down the highway at speeds up to 75 miles per hour.

“The vehicle was all over the road -- on the shoulder, in between the two lanes -- and the vehicle didn’t stop,” he told KSL. "The vehicle didn’t respond to lights or sirens and at that point since there were so many of our extra officers in that area, they were able to put the spikes out and we spiked three of the vehicle's tires."

Police eventually spoke to the vehicle's driver and passengers, a Japanese couple and their 7-year-old son, who were driving from California to Bryce Canyon National Park, but were clearly unfamiliar with some basic rules of the road.

Authorities decided not to press charges.

"It was a difficult situation, one that was unfortunate, but no one was hurt or injured," Lorne said.

[KSL]