JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colo. -- People who witnessed a police chase in Clear Creek and Jefferson counties Tuesday saw mail flying out the windows as the vehicles went flying down the road.

A homeowner called the Clear Creek County sheriff's office at 7:32 a.m. Tuesday after catching someone trying to steal a power washer from his front yard, Capt. Bruce Snelling told 7NEWS.

The man jumped into a red Pontiac Grand Am and drove off.

Authorities said the car was stolen.

Deputies spotted the car on Upper Bear Creek Road and chased it, Snelling said. In Morrison, Morrison police took up the chase, but called it off at C-470. The Colorado State Patrol took up the chase at C-470.

During the chase, witnesses called police and said the driver and a passenger were throwing mail out the windows of the car.

State troopers were just about to call off the pursuit when the driver crashed into another vehicle, Snelling said.

Troopers arrested one woman at the car near Colorado Avenue and Xavier Street, but two men escaped, according to the CSP.

Three schools were locked down during the search for the men.

Investigators recovered three grocery bags full of mail.

Clear Creek County Sheriff Don Krueger said it's likely that the thieves were looking for income tax refund checks.

"Mail theft picks up around Christmas time," Krueger told 7NEWS. "This time of year is the second obvious choice."