A Utah man who allegedly attempted to elude a chasing Satan by ramming a school bus twice and then forcing a pickup truck driver in Pleasant Grove to take him to a Latter-day Saint temple in American Fork was charged Thursday.
Spanish Fork resident Brant Jay Diediker, 40, was arrested Dec. 19 when the truck driver dropped him off at the temple.
According to court documents, Diediker hit the school bus twice from behind in a three-block period because he needed to get away from Satan, who the man said was chasing him. The bus driver and the 20 children aboard were uninjured.
After ramming the bus, Diediker tried unsuccessfully to get into two vehicles before he climbed into a truck and ordered the driver to take him to “the temple," according to court documents.
When police arrested him at the American Fork Latter-day Saint temple, officers said he had “rapid speech” and “appeared to have difficulty sitting still for long.” Police also reported his pupils were constricted and he had a dry mouth with white coating on his tongue. While Diediker passed a field sobriety test, his urine tested positive for THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. Diediker told police he’d smoked a dab, or marijuana concentrate, the day before. Police haven’t yet received results from his blood toxicology screening.
Police found a dab and drug paraphernalia in Diediker’s vehicle.
He was charged Thursday in 4th District Court with 11 counts of third-degree felony aggravated assault, three counts of first-degree felony aggravated robbery, a single count of first-degree felony aggravated kidnapping and damaging a jail, and other misdemeanor offenses, according to court documents.
Diediker is in Utah county jail. His cash-only bail has been set at $75,000.
