ELBERT COUNTY, Colo. – A wild police chase that included two attempted carjackings in eastern Colorado ended in a head-on crash on Interstate 70 Thursday. No serious injuries were reported in the crash.
Three people — Anthony Kent, 27; John Gibson, 35; and Samantha Story, 27 — were arrested and what police say was a large amount of methamphetamine seized after the crash west of Limon.
The chase began around 2:15 p.m. when the suspects failed to stop for an Elbert County deputy attempting a traffic stop along US 24 near Simla.
Simla Police were standing by ready to stop the eluding vehicle, but police say the suspects didn’t even slow down when they entered the small Elbert County town and continued into Limon, where the suspects attempted to carjack the driver of a car at a McDonald’s parking lot.
According to police, pursuing officers pulled into the McDonald’s parking lot and attempted to block the suspects in, but the suspected driver, Kent, brandished what was later determined to be a cordless drill and accelerated rapidly, striking a Simla officer’s vehicle. The officer suffered minor injuries.
The pursuit continued onto westbound I-70 but was terminated due to public safety concerns. After officers pulled back, police say the vehicle slowed down and drove directly into an oncoming vehicle, causing a head-on collision.
Police say Kent then got out of the car and attempted to carjack the victim whose vehicle the suspect damaged in the collision just moments before. The suspects were eventually stopped and taken into custody with the assistance of Colorado State Patrol Troopers.
All three were booked into the Elbert County Jail on felony charges related to the chase and drug seizure. Kent is facing an additional charge of attempted first-degree murder of a peace officer for the alleged incident in the McDonald’s parking lot. Police say he also has three active warrants including escape from the Department of Corrections.
