Suspected Drunk Driver Who Led Police On 75-Mile Chase Identified
EAGLE, Colo. (CBS4) - The driver who led troopers on a 75-mile chase on Interstate 70 has been identified as a 26-year-old woman from California.
The Eagle County Sheriff's Office released Sonia Sovereign's mug shot on Tuesday.
The chase, which started Sunday afternoon in Jefferson County, crossed through Clear Creek County and ended in Summit County more than an hour later.
Colorado State Patrol Sgt. Rob Madden said the chase started after dispatch received calls of a possible intoxicated driver in a van.
"State Patrol received two calls for the same vehicle," Madden said.
When state troopers got behind the van, it took off.
The chase was documented on multiple Colorado Department of Transportation cameras.
"There are multiple parts about this that were unusual," Madden said.
Madden said troopers were not sure why the driver was refusing to stop.
The vehicle was reported stolen out of Denver but, at the time, they did not know who the driver was.
The van, traveling west, evaded both police and stop sticks. Colorado State Patrol does not use pit maneuver tactics.
"There was an attempt to stop the vehicle with tire deflation device, stop sticks. The vehicle did move around those stop sticks," Madden said.
Once the vehicle came to a stop, troopers pulled the driver from the vehicle.
Investigators say Sovereign refused to submit to roadside sobriety tests, or give blood for testing. Officials with the Colorado State Patrol believe intoxication was a factor in the chase.