Former Track & Field Athlete Hurdles Fences, Helps Police Capture DUI Suspect

LONGMONT, Colo. (CBS4) - A former high school track athlete used skills she learned in the sport to help police capture a suspected drunk driver.

Vanessa Ready, 27, was a hurdler and sprinter at Erie High School.

She says she heard a driver tearing through her Longmont neighborhood in a reckless manner early Tuesday afternoon and took action.

"The way his tires screeched I'd say at least 100 miles an hour," she said, describing how fast the driver was going. She said she was instantly concerned for the safety of her children and the other kids in the neighborhood.

The car crashed into a power pole at Sumner Street and Spruce Avenue, and Ready quickly jumped over several fences to get to the crash scene.

"He smelled like a brewery," she said.

Ready said the driver then picked her up and "threw me sideways" and then ran and hopped a fence.

"He hit that fence, boom, I got up, I hit that fence and I was on him pretty quick. Then we hit this fence, and right here is where my foot got caught in the fence and I knocked this board loose, because I faceplanted on the ground," she said.

As she leapt to her feet she says she saw the suspect, who appeared exhausted, on the phone turning himself in to police.

Longmont police spokesman Jeff Satur said Ready could have been hurt, but he appreciates the help.

"Her heart's in the right spot. I can't knock her for that," Satur said.

"There's no way I would have been able to hit the fences this high if I hadn't done track and field. And I wouldn't have been that fast," she told CBS4.

Police say Brian Foster, 35, faces charges that include DUI and reckless driving in the case.