A high speed car chase came to an abrupt halt in downtown Bailey Wednesday night after deputies deployed Stop Sticks and State Trooper Larry Thomas employed a TVI (Tactical Vehicle Intervention) maneuver. The 15-year-old driver, later identified as a runaway from Omaha, Nebraska, had ignored attempts to stop the vehicle.
According to Park County Sheriff Fred Wegener, the incident began in Chaffee County where two vehicles were observed weaving in and out of traffic. One of the vehicles had previously been reported stolen in Nebraska, the other later reported stolen in Buena Vista. State Patrol attempted to contact the vehicles on Trout Creek Pass, but one car then crashed with a third unrelated vehicle, killing the teen driver of one of the reported stolen cars. The second vehicle continued on into Park County.
Upon hearing a report and description of the second car, Sheriff Wegener states he spotted the vehicle northbound on US 285 near Long Meadow. The Sheriff immediately reported the sighting to Trooper Thomas and both began pursuit, sometimes reaching chase speeds of 85 mph. When the driver refused to stop, Wegener authorized the deployment of Stop Sticks across the highway at Glen Isle to disable the vehicle. The Stop Sticks punctured the car's front tire, but the vehicle continued on toward Bailey.
With the car's front tire shredding, Trooper Thomas was able to safely catch up to the vehicle and employ the TVI in front of Rustic Square. The maneuver was successful in spinning the car, halting its progress. According to Sheriff Wegener, the driver tried to recover from the spin, but the car left the road and slid into mud in the adjacent ditch. The driver jumped from the car and fled into the nearby woods on foot.
Sheriff Wegener called out 10 Park County Department personnel and was assisted by one Sergeant and four deputies from Jefferson County, along with a search dog from each department. A reverse 911 call was made to area residents to warn them of the suspect at large. After hours of searching, they were unable to locate the driver Wednesday night. The search was suspended at approximately 1 a.m. and was resumed early Thursday morning.
At approximately 9 a.m. Thursday, a Park County Deputy involved in the search discovered a broken window and signs of activity at a cabin near Happy Top, off County Road 64 in Bailey. After backup arrived, the suspect was apprehended inside the cabin, having apparently spent the night there, according to the Sheriff. He was taken into custody and transferred to a juvenile facility.
Sheriff Wegener states that possible charges against the teen driver in Park County include 1st degree criminal trespass, criminal mischief, and felony eluding. The Chaffee County District Attorney will be handling any charges stemming from the events that occurred in that county earlier Wednesday night.
"We had only had the Stop Sticks in the car three days," said Sheriff Wegener. The department had just recently acquired the tire-deflation equipment and received training shortly before the chase occurred.
