Utah Gov. Spencer J. Cox speaks during a COVID-19 briefing at the Utah State Capitol in Salt Lake City on Friday, Jan. 8, 2021. Cox unveiled a plan Friday to ramp up Utah's COVID-19 vaccine distribution as the state sees a post-holiday surge in new cases. Cox, a Republican, said he will issue an executive order requiring facilities to allocate their doses the week they are received and have local health departments manage distribution, with an expectation of administering 50,000 doses a week. (Jeffrey D. Allred/Deseret News, via AP, Pool)

Gov. Calls Trooper Who Saved Colleague A Hero

(Orem, UT) — Governor Spencer Cox is calling a Utah Highway Patrol trooper a hero for saving a colleague’s life. The incident happened Sunday after a driver going the wrong direction on I-15 near Orem slammed head-on into Trooper Carlos Rios-Redd. The wrong-way driver was killed and Rios-Redd’s vehicle caught fire on impact, trapping him inside. A second trooper, identified as Ben Fagan, arrived at the scene and smashed through the window of the patrol vehicle with his hand and pulled the injured officer to safety. Cox took to social media to praise Fagan’s actions.