Coroner: Suspect in lengthy interstate pursuit shot self

A Fort Collins man died following a nearly hour-long pursuit along Interstate 76 on Wednesday. Collin Roberts's vehicle was spun out by pursuing officers, then one gunshot was fired by an officer and Roberts each, according to investigators. 

Thursday, the Weld County Coroner's Office announced its determination that Roberts died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. 

A Greeley Police Department spokesman, speaking on behalf of the multi-agency Weld County Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT), confirmed Thursday that team will continue to look into the incident because an officer did shoot at the suspect's vehicle. 

The incident began just before 11:30 a.m. when residents in the 24000 block of Cottonwood Court in Kersey called 9-1-1 to report and man who was trying to steal vehicles and break into their house. That man, according to the CIRT press release, fled the scene in a pickup truck prior to officers' arrival. But his vehicle was spotted nearby and a pursuit was initiated. 

Roberts, 26, was alone in the vehicle - a 2001 gray Chevrolet Silverado which was registered to a resident at that Kersey address, according to police radio traffic. 

Officers at the Kersey scene can be heard telling pursuing officers that Roberts reportedly had a rifle resembling an AR-15 placed on his dashboard and was possibly armed with other weapons.

Speeds reached 100 mph as Roberts traveled eastbound on I-76. Weld County Sheriff's Office deputies alerted Morgan County deputies to the chase and stopped at the Weld-Morgan county line. 

Minutes later, Roberts made his way back into Weld County going the other direction, and Weld's pursuit resumed. Stop sticks, a tire-inflating device laid in the roadway, were deployed several times in front of Roberts's vehicle, but were not successful.

Almost an hour after the initial call, a Hudson Police Department vehicle performed a PIT (police tactical intervention) maneuver near the Hudson exit. Roberts's truck was damaged and unable to continue. 

 "The male suspect then fired one round while a Hudson Police officer simultaneously fired one round," as stated in the CIRT press release.

Roberts was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital. 

An ambulance was requested for two Hudson officers reportedly injured during the PIT maneuver, per radio traffic. But the CIRT spokesman has not confirmed that any officers were injured during the incident. 

Roberts had been released from Larimer County's jail four days prior to the incident, according to online court records. Less than one thousand dollars total was paid in cash toward bonds in two cases from Loveland and Fort Collins PD arrests in November. Both cases involved drug possession charges - specifically, fentanyl.