Carjacking Suspect Shot And Killed After Pursuit On I-70
STRASBURG, Colo. (CBS4)- A carjacking suspect was shot and killed Saturday morning after a pursuit that ended with a crash along Interstate 70.
Officers were trying to stop the carjacking suspect along I-70 near Deer Trail when the chase began. Colorado State Patrol troopers confirmed they tried using a "PIT" maneuver and spikes to try to stop the suspect.
"The resulting pursuit reached in excess of 100 mph," said Arapahoe County Sheriff's Capt. Jared Rowlison.
The suspect vehicle crashed into a ditch about 14 miles later and the suspect ran into a field where he engaged troopers in a standoff.
"He was just going up and down pacing the fence line and talking to the cops and he kept sitting down and standing up and he had a gun in his mouth and then he had it to the side of his head," witness Terrence Boyd.
An Arapahoe County Sheriff's deputy shot and killed the suspect during an exchange of gunfire.
"There was a significant threat to the deputy's safety and the public's safety as well, during this entire incident," said Rowlison.
Officers say it all began when the suspect forced a driver and passenger out of a red Chevy Tahoe at gunpoint. He got inside and started speeding down the interstate.
"The safety message is, you're on a highway. If you see somebody on the side of the road, dial *CSP and allow us to take the time to come out and investigate as to why that person is on the road," said Colorado State Patrol Trooper Timothy Sullivan.
Troopers deployed stop sticks but the suspect kept driving. It was the "PIT" maneuver or Precision Immobilization Technique by the state trooper that brought the chase to an end and the deadly shooting of a suspect.
"Crazy because this is a little town. Stuff like this doesn't happen around here," said Boyd.
The Colorado Department of Transportation tweeted out that I-70 near exit 310 was open but the exit ramps remained closed at 8:50 a.m. Saturday because of the police activity.
The suspect's identity has not been released.
Strasburg is about 45 minutes east of the Denver metro area along I-70.
