Dashcam shows CSP trooper end dangerous chase with PIT maneuver
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Cortez, CO - The Colorado State Patrol shared dashcam video Wednesday of an 81-year-old driver who allegedly led a trooper in a high-speed chase before a PIT maneuver put an end to the dangerous pursuit.
The driver was arrested for DUI, reckless driving, and eluding following the April 8 incident on US 160 near Cortez in the Four Corners area.
The video shows Trooper Mass conducting a separate traffic stop when he notices a Jeep Gladiator driving on the shoulder in the wrong direction. Other motorists point toward the Jeep to alert the trooper.
Trooper Mass immediately abandons his current stop, returns to his patrol car, and initiates the pursuit.
As Trooper Mass follows the Jeep, the vehicle speeds on the shoulder, drifts into oncoming traffic, and nearly causes multiple head-on crashes, according to the CSP.
Trooper Mass activates his lights and sirens and continues pursuing the driver, who does not respond.
With an active work zone ahead and the Jeep failing to stop, Trooper Mass uses a tactical vehicle intervention, sometimes called a PIT maneuver, to halt the vehicle before it enters the construction area, according to the CSP.
The unidentified suspect was booked into the Montezuma County Jail.
The agency released the video during National Work Zone Safety Week to highlight how impaired and reckless drivers can threaten the lives of roadway workers and the general public.