Crime spree, police chase in Colorado foothills ends on I-70

A Colorado State Patrol trooper and a suspect were injured on Thursday in the foothills after a chase that ended on Interstate 70. That's according to the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office. The response began as a call for a stolen vehicle out of Summit County. 

Close to 5 p.m., state troopers were called to assist Clear Creek County deputies who had tracked a stolen white Ford F-150 pickup truck to the parking lot of the Walmart in Evergreen.

 A suspect was seen entering the Walmart and then returning to the stolen vehicle when responding law enforcement officers activated their emergency lights and surrounded the suspect in the stolen truck. This led to the suspect ramming the deputy and trooper vehicles repeatedly. 

Eventually, the state trooper responding exited their vehicle and fired several shots at the suspect and the vehicle, never hitting the suspect. The suspect then led law enforcement on to I-70 in eastbound lanes before the suspect crashed out onto the dirt area for overrun semitrucks on the shoulder of the interstate.

Jefferson County deputies also responded and joined law enforcement in apprehending the suspect. At that point, officers found a box in the back of the stolen truck that was marked for hazard for radioactive material. The public information officer for the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office confirmed it turned out to be a tool that had radioactive material in it. It could not be moved until the vendor of that tool was able to respond and retrieve it. 

Those factors resulted in an extended closure of I-70's eastbound lanes in the Genesee area Thursday night. At 9:30 p.m., it was expected the interstate could remain shut down for another two to four hours at that time. 

The suspect did suffer injures due to ramming law enforcement vehicles and the crash that happened on I-70. A state trooper also had minor injuries in the response. Both were taken to the hospital. 

In an update from Colorado State Patrol, it was confirmed there was believed to be a second suspect involved in the stolen truck. But that individual was not in the vehicle at the time of the response to the Walmart or the chase on the interstate when the first suspect was captured. 

It remains unconfirmed if the suspect who was captured fired a gun at any point in this entire response.