A man was taken into custody after he rammed a school bus with his pickup truck and forced another driver to take him to the Latter-day Saint temple in American Fork — because “Satan” was “chasing him.”
According to Pleasant Grove police, Brant Jay Diediker, 40, of American Fork, tested positive for THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol) in a field urinalysis. Diediker was booked into the Utah County Jail for investigation of 21 counts of aggravated assault, third-degree felonies; three counts of aggravated robbery, first degree felonies; and five misdemeanor drug, traffic and damaging jail property charges.
According to court documents, on Wednesday at about 3 p.m., Diediker rammed his pickup truck into the rear of a school bus carrying 20 children at about 300 W. 1100 North and then again at 600 W. 1100 North in Pleasant Grove. None of the children or the driver were injured.
Witnesses told police Diediker then exited his truck and tried unsuccessfully to force his way into two cars before climbing into a large box truck and ordering the driver to take him to “the temple.” The truck driver took him to the American Fork temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and Diediker jumped out and ran to the southeast corner of the grounds, where police apprehended him.
Diediker admitted he was the driver of the truck that hit the school bus “to get away from someone chasing him” — “Satan” — adding that he “struck the bus intentionally,” according to a probable cause statement. He also admitted to trying to break into two other cars and entering the truck to leave the scene.
Police found cannabis concentrate — also known as Dab — in Diediker’s truck, along with drug paraphernalia, and Diediker “made the spontaneous statement that it all belonged to him.”
