Car chase ends in Encampment

The sound of sirens filled the Platte Valley on the night of Friday, April 29 as what began as an attempted traffic stop in Saratoga resulted in a high-speed car chase eventually ending in Encampment.

According to Saratoga Police Chief Ken Lehr, he had been preparing to turn off Rochester Avenue onto 1st Street in Saratoga when a vehicle-the driver of which was later identified to be a woman-came through Saratoga at approximately 60 miles per hour. Preparing to do a traffic stop, Lehr followed the vehicle out towards Shively's North when the driver turned around and sped back through Saratoga at approximately 90-95 miles per hour.

"I slowed down, 50 (miles per hour), through town. Once we got south of town, speeds were over 100 miles an hour. We were driving on black ice and, once we got about five miles outside of Encampment, (we had) white out conditions," said Lehr. "We slowed down a little bit and, once we got out of the squall, it was back up (to) almost 100 miles an hour going through Riverside into Encampment."

According to Lehr, both he and Encampment Police Chief Kevin Shue spent approximately 20 minutes pursuing the driver through the streets of Encampment. The driver then left Encampment and headed back towards Saratoga.

"We went through Saratoga, up by the Mountain View Estates turn off, and she flipped around and we went back through Saratoga, again, at a high rate of speed," Lehr said. "This time we had two sheriff's deputies and another Saratoga unit."

Lehr told the Saratoga Sun there were times during the pursuit when the driver "blacked out"-meaning they had turned off their headlights-and attempted to hit three of the vehicles involved in the pursuit. After going through Saratoga for what would be the third time, the driver led authorities back towards Encampment. As the driver passed Encampment Town Hall, Lehr said their vehicle was traveling at approximately 70 miles per hour.

"She hit the ditch and the berm there at 7th and McCaffrey-I don't know if she misjudged it or too fast for conditions-which caused the vehicle to flip up in the air and land on the top," said Lehr. "She hit that berm and the car just went up in the air. It just exploded, there was parts flying everywhere. It landed upside down, on its roof, and Encampment Fire came and they were able to extricate her. Last I knew about her condition, after being taken to Memorial Hospital (of Carbon County), they transported her to Salt Lake (City)." 

While the vehicle had been removed by late Saturday morning, evidence of the final stop of the high-speed chase could be seen. Broken glass from tail lights along with a number of lighters and butane torches littered the empty lot next to the St. James Episcopal Church. Tire tracks through a nearby residential yard showed where the vehicle went off the road before landing at the corner of 7th and McCaffrey.

According to Lehr, while there had been attempts to block routes for the driver, she continued to evade the law enforcement officers. While the driver is from out-of-state, the Saratoga police chief said she did have a residence in Encampment where she had been staying and was likely why she drove between the two towns.

"We had thought about calling it, but her erratic driving and the way she was driving through there, it was one of those things we had to shut her down somehow. We had troopers up north with spike strips, the sheriff's office had spike strips just a little ways north," Lehr said. "We thought maybe she was going to head that way but she kept going back and forth between Saratoga and Encampment. We probably would have made another trip back to Saratoga." 

The incident is under investigation and, as of press time, the identity of the driver has not been released.