During a recent 10-day stretch, a string of vehicle break-ins were reported to be taking place in Colorado’s Summit, Eagle, and Clear Creek counties, said to involve at least 25 vehicles being trespassed and items stolen that included at least one firearm and ammunition. The investigation led to a 29-year-old male suspect in the case, with the attempt to catch that suspect ending in tragedy.

On the morning of October 14, the Clear Creek County Sheriff’s Office learned of multiple vehicle trespasses at the Microtel Hotel in Georgetown, soon connecting the suspect in that case to the Summit and Eagle county thefts that had occurred in recent days. By 2 p.m., the suspect vehicle – a Chrysler Town and Country minivan – was located in the area of Highway 40 at Floyd Hill, with authorities staging at this road’s intersection with Highway 6 in attempt to stop the suspect.

As the suspect approached and turned onto Highway 6, the initial attempt to stop the vehicle failed, with the suspect escaping to drive westbound on Highway 6 and then the wrong way on eastbound I-70 amid a lack of eastbound traffic due to a rock scaling hold in a construction zone.

After traveling down I-70 for about half a mile in the wrong direction, the suspect reportedly pulled a U-turn and started traveling eastbound at a high rate of speed toward law enforcement, eventually attempting to exit the interstate onto eastbound Highway 6.

According to a press release on the matter, stop sticks were deployed, with the suspect striking those and sustaining tire damage. As the suspect vehicle attempted to navigate Highway 6 amid tire deflation, a loss of control is said to have occurred, which may have been a factor in the suspect traveling into westbound lanes and striking an oncoming Lexus head-on.

The Lexus was pushed off of the roadway and after rolling, it came to rest in Clear Creek. The driver of the Lexus sustained life-threatening injuries and was airlifted to a Denver metro area hospital, later pronounced deceased.

Meanwhile, the suspect was pronounced deceased at the scene of the crash, with an adult female passenger in the suspect vehicle transported to a local hospital with minor injuries.

The suspect, the passenger in the suspect vehicle, and the passerby in the Lexus weren’t the only people said to have sustained injuries during the chase. As three Jefferson County Sheriff’s Officers responded to assist in the situation, the lead vehicle struck a raised metal construction plate in a construction area, resulting in its motor going airborne. This caused the other two responding units to crash with an officer in one of those vehicles sustaining minor injuries after striking a concrete barrier.

Highway 6 was closed between Highway 119 and Highway 40 following the head-on collision. It was later reopened around 9:45 p.m. later that night.

Prior reporting from the Clear Creek County Sheriff’s Office cautioned the public about the vehicle break-ins, reminding people to lock their doors. One of the vehicles that was broken into at the Microtel in Georgetown had a window smashed, while others had unlocked doors.