Man Carjacks Multiple Vehicles, Leads Police On Wild Chase In Denver Area
DENVER (CBS) - Police have captured a 28-year-old man after he led police on a chase in three different stolen cars in the northern and eastern Denver metro area.
A Colorado State Trooper sustained serious injuries in the incident.
The dramatic events of Wednesday morning started at approximately 7 a.m. in the far northern part of the metro area as police chased a red SUV after a boy was reported kidnapped as he sat in a running vehicle outside a Longmont area gas station. The boy's name is Allen Chavarria-Rodriquez and he wasn't harmed during the incident.
Police backed off from the SUV due to dangerous traffic moves the suspect was making in the car, but Copter4 was flying above the vehicle and in communication with police as it was following it.
"When you see the cars not pursuing we are hoping this person would slow down. We stopped the traffic on the bridge … to allow him access, hopefully number one, to save that child," Douglas County Sheriff David Weaver said.
The chase wound through multiple counties, and at one point early on in the chase a CBS4 crew was driving right behind the suspect's car.
The SUV at one point reached speeds in excess of 80 mph on Interstate 25 southbound before diverting and heading east on Interstate 76.
Police said Chavarria-Rodriquez, a 4-year-old, was still in the car at the time.
About 30 minutes after the chase had started the suspect stopped his car on the side of the road at I-76 and 136th in Adams County and carjacked a gold minivan with two people inside. The man forced the driver out and the passenger got out on her own.
RELATED: 4-Year-Old Told Mother He Was 'Scared, Crying' During Chase
The suspect then fled in the minivan and continued to speed away from police in the wrong direction in I-76. More than once officers attempted to throw out stop sticks, but the van was going so erratically, they didn't come close.
He eventually ended up on E-470 southbound. Officers again attempted to use stop sticks and near Chambers Road. Two officers on the highway were trying to put out the stop sticks when a car in front of the suspect attempted to pull off to the side of the road. The minivan was cut off into the breakdown lane and the one of the troopers had to jump off the highway to avoid getting hit. The trooper was clipped by the minivan and was taken to the hospital with serious injuries that required surgery.
The trooper has been identified as Bellamann Hee, an eight-year veteran of the CSP. He was currently in stable condition.
https://twitter.com/CSP_News/statuses/443819689794207744
He exited E-470 southbound at Peoria and, using the minivan, bumped a silver Lexus. He got the woman to stop and then forced her from that car. The woman tried to fight back but the suspect won the battle and fled in that car.
Eventually he crashed that car at Lincoln Parkway and Peoria in Douglas County, fled on foot and at approximately 8:05 a.m he shed his jacket and slipped on some ice. He got up and attempted to climb a fence but was unsuccessful and was captured after a short foot chase.
RELATED: Driver Involved In Final Crash Was Listening To Chase On Radio
At 9:30 a.m. Longmont police identified the suspect as Ryan Stone. (Full Story)
