The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
“In the end, the good guys won…”
In something that at times appeared to be out of an old episode of the Dukes of Hazzard television show, local law enforcement officers engaged in several high speed chases Sunday throughout the valley. At one point the fugitive was travelling at a high rate of speed on just the rim of his front tire, sparks flying and police watching in amazement. It ended with the arrest of an 18-year-old Cortez man who stole several vehicles before being apprehended near Jack’s Cabin.
No injuries occurred as a result of the incidents and officers say that was very lucky under the circumstances. Carl Wright was arrested by Mt. Crested Butte Police officers and charged with theft of property and vehicle.
According to Mt. Crested Butte police department spokesperson Marjorie Trautman, at approximately 2 p.m. on Sunday a purse was reported stolen from a vehicle parked at the West Maroon Pass trailhead near Schofield Pass. That started a wild ride that lasted another seven hours. The reporting party attempted to confront the suspect, who fled the scene in a Ford Explorer. It was later learned this vehicle was stolen from Chaffee County. Mt. Crested Butte officers attempted contact with the vehicle as it entered the Mt. Crested Butte town limits. The driver sped away reaching speeds in excess of 60 mph on Gothic Road and continued southbound with officers in pursuit. The vehicle then turned onto Slate River Road.
Due to roadway conditions, the number of pedestrians, cyclists and other vehicles present and the suspect driver’s blatant disregard for the safety of others, Trautman said officers suspended their pursuit near the town site of Pittsburg. The suspect vehicle continued on toward Paradise Divide.
“We’re lucky it wasn’t July or August,” Trautman said. “It’s still busy but the number of tourists on the road wasn’t too bad Sunday. It would have been very, very dangerous if it were crowded. This guy had an obvious disregard for other vehicles and people. He was relentless.”
Given that the route up Slate River Road toward Paradise Divide has basically two ways out, the police pulled off the chase for safety reasons and waited. The strategy worked.
At approximately 7:30 p.m., officers located the vehicle traveling southbound south of the Gothic town site. Another high-speed pursuit ensued. This time the fugitive sped through several residential streets in Mt. Crested Butte. At one point Trautman said he went up Cinnamon Mountain Road that is a dead-end. “He went as far as he could up the last driveway and ran out of pavement so went off-road and just bush-whacked through empty lots up there which are pretty steep,” she said. “He got lucky and didn’t nose in to the ditch and ended up back on the road flying toward Crested Butte.”
Crested Butte marshals set up a spike strip, which punctured a tire on the vehicle before it entered the town of Crested Butte. The vehicle entered town with speeds reaching 75 mph and the suspect driver traveled into oncoming lanes of traffic and up on the sidewalk along Sixth Street.
Crested Butte chief marshal Tom Martin described the scene to the town council at the October 20 meeting. He said at one point his officers said it was like being in a scene from the ‘Dukes of Hazzard’ as the car tried to avoid the tire puncture spikes and careened into a ditch at a high rate of speed. He said that with a flat tire the car continued travelling at probably 80 or 85 miles per hour on the rim instead of the tire. Sparks were flying everywhere, he said.
“It could have been really bad,” added Trautman. “Fortunately there were no pedestrians on the sidewalk and the cars on the road pulled over when they saw the flashing lights. He was all over the road moving really fast. He went off the road and through fences.”
The driver continued south on Highway 135, ultimately on a bare front wheel rim, before turning onto Cement Creek Road. The driver pulled into Ruland Place, where the suspect left the vehicle and fled on foot with officers in pursuit.
With the assistance of the Crested Butte Marshals Office, Colorado Department of Parks & Wildlife, the Gunnison Sheriff’s Office and Colorado State Patrol, the Crested Butte South and Allen Homesite subdivisions were locked down with multiple patrols searching the area and all vehicles being stopped and inspected. A reverse 911 emergency notification was sent to residents of the area alerting them to the at-large suspect.
One Crested Butte South resident, following instructions to lock all vehicles came out to find his vehicle missing. He reported his vehicle stolen. With a full description of this vehicle, officers quickly located the suspect and arrested him on Highway 135 near the Jack’s Cabin Cutoff. The suspect also had an active warrant for theft of an unrelated vehicle from Cortez, Colorado.
According to the Mt. Crested Butte Mountain Mischief column, “When asked why he decided to finally stop, he told the officer he just got tired.”
“I don’t think any of the officers have dealt with something like this before,” said Trautman. “I’m not even sure they’ve ever brought out the tire spikes. But all the officers from all the jurisdictions acted with cool heads and made good decisions.
“The emergency notification system, or reverse 911, worked well,” she continued. “Without it, we wouldn’t have known he had stolen another vehicle until he might have gotten out of the area. We did have a few citizens ‘helping’ us and while we always appreciate assistance, in this circumstance safety was an concern.“
Wright was taken to the Gunnison County jail where he remains.
“No one was hurt and in the end, the good guys won,” concluded Martin.
