Weekend pursuit ends with crash on reservation

A pursuit that started in Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation Saturday afternoon and reached speeds of more than 100 mph on U.S. Highway 87 before skewing back onto reservation land ended after the driver crashed in a residential area.

The pursuit started on Rocky Boy when tribal police tried to pull over a car that was suspected of carrying a woman with a tribal warrant, Montana Highway Patrol Trooper Lewis Johnson said this morning. The male driver refused to pull over the four-door Toyota Camry. Two MHP troopers got involved after MHP dispatch received a call Saturday at 3:57 p.m. asking for assistance near Salix Street in Big Sandy.

The driver reached speeds of 110 mph as he drove northbound on U.S. Highway 87, Johnson said. The Camry changed directions and took Laredo Road back onto Rocky Boy, where MHP continued the pursuit because tribal police were not nearby to take over, Johnson said.

The Camry turned into the Wild Rose Village, where the driver began driving erratically.

“He was doing circles around houses,” Johnson said.

A trooper then initiated “strategic vehicle contact” to try and end the pursuit, Johnson said, adding that public safety was the main concern. The vehicle bump worked and the driver crashed into a parked car.

The driver was transported to Northern Montana Hospital to have a head laceration looked at. No one else was hurt, Johnson said, and somewhere during the melee, the passenger suspect managed to get out of the car.

Johnson said it’s unknown whether the driver was under the influence of drugs or alcohol, but he did not suspect he was under any direct influence.

Tribal police are investigating the matter further and Johnson could give the names of the people in the car. No one from Rocky Boy Police could be reached for comment by deadline this morning.