A high-speed car chase that reached speeds of 95 miles per hour ended Saturday night after the driver ran off the road about 8 miles south of Hesperus.
According to Colorado State Patrol Cpt. Adrian Driscoll, authorities received a report around 7:25 p.m. Saturday that a vehicle was driving all over the road on Highway 3 in Durango.
A Colorado State Patrol officer was able to pull over the car about five minutes later near the intersection of Highway 3 and Camino Del Rio. However, while the car was pulled over, the driver took off west on U.S. Highway 160.
Officers tried to initiate a tactical traffic stop on the vehicle, unsuccessfully, Driscoll said. The driver then turned down County Road 141, also known as Wildcat Canyon Road.
The driver reached speeds of 85 to 95 miles per hour on the narrow county road. Driscoll said traffic was light on the road and no other drivers were affected by the high-speed car chase.
Near the intersection of County Road 141 and Highway 140, the driver crashed the vehicle through a fence, and went about 50 feet off the roadway. The driver then took off on foot.
Less than five minutes after the driver ran from the scene, officers were able to locate him hiding in a bush. He was arrested at about 8 p.m.
Driscoll said because the man was Native American and crashed the vehicle on Southern Ute Indian Tribe land, Southern Ute police were notified and took over the incident.
The man was identified as 31-year-old Lamar Fields, of Towaoc. He is suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol, Driscoll said.
Any subsequent charges against Fields would come from Southern Ute police, Driscoll said. Calls to the Southern Ute police were not returned Sunday.
jromeo@durangoherald.com
