Arson Suspect Crashes Stolen Truck Into Police Car
FREMONT COUNTY, Colo. (CBS4) - A night that started with a report of an RV on fire ended with a police chase, a shooting and a head-on crash.
Robert Lee Fay, 34, is suspected of setting a fire at Bighorn RV Resort on Highway 50 in Coaldale on Sunday at about 5 p.m.
When firefighters arrived, a motor home, a truck and a trailer were fully engulfed in flames. According to the arrest affidavit, there were multiple rounds of ammunition going off in the fire and multiple explosions from propane tanks.
A witness reported seeing a white Chevrolet truck leaving the RV park.
About 45 minutes later, deputies got a call from the owner of a local paving company who said that one of his employees, Jerry Fay, believed his son, Robert Fay, may have stolen his work truck - a white 2013 Chevrolet.
The owner of the truck was able to use a privately-installed GPS device to track it and deputies caught up with the driver just west of Cañon City on Highway 50.
According to the affidavit, deputies saw the truck heading east at a high rate of speed.
The deputies began to chase the truck but, after just a few hundred yards, the driver suddenly made a U-turn.
The affidavit states that the driver then sped up and deliberately crashed head-on into another patrol vehicle that was stopped on the highway.
"I noticed that the white truck had started to accelerate its speed and without deviating from its path or stopping, it drove directly toward the parked sheriff's vehicle," Deputy Stephen Jones stated in the affidavit.
"As the white truck approached the sheriff's vehicle and prior to the collision, I heard three distinct rifle shots," Jones continued.
Jones stated that the shots "did not deter the driver of the white truck."
The truck hit the patrol unit hard enough to spin it 180 degrees, Jones stated.
Jones stated that, after the crash, he saw Sgt. Mike Miller standing on the roadway edge, "with his A.R. 15 aimed at the white truck and driver."
The deputies handcuffed Fay and was taken to the hospital and released with minor injuries.
Fay is being detained at the Fremont County Jail and faces charges including attempt to commit first degree murder of a peace officer and arson.
The patrol unit that was rammed had an estimated value of $60,000-$80,000. It was totaled.
Sgt. Megan Richards was inside the patrol unit that was hit. There was no word on whether she was hurt in the crash but she was back at work the next day.
The stolen truck was also totaled.
The Colorado Bureau of Investigation is investigating the shooting, which is standard procedure.
