6/20/23 Otero County, CO – Deputies Were Chasing A Suspect Crashing Into Multiple Civilian And Police Vehicles – Troopers Pit-Maneuvered Suspect – Steals Colorado State Patrol Car – Hits Commercial Truck – Killed In Crash

A man was killed when he crashed a Colorado State Patrol car that he stole as troopers were trying to arrest him in southeastern Colorado Tuesday morning, the state patrol said. 

Troopers said just before 11 a.m. Tuesday, they were called to help Otero County deputies, who were chasing a suspect along Highway 50 in Otero County.

The driver being chased “was reported to have caused multiple crashes and attempted to cause head-on crashes with himself and other vehicles,” CSP said. They said there was also a report of shots fired in connection with the car.

Troopers did a maneuver and successfully stopped the car. As they were arresting the driver, he “gained access to the front of a fully marked Colorado State Patrol vehicle and fled,” troopers said. 

It’s unclear how the suspect got into the driver’s seat of the car. 

Law enforcement chased the suspect and deployed stop sticks further down Highway 50. After hitting the stop sticks, the driver lost control and crashed into the side of a commercial motor vehicle that was parked on the side of the highway, CSP said. The car spun out and caught fire. 

The man was extracted from the car and taken to the hospital, where he died. His name has not yet been released. 

The driver of the commercial vehicle was not injured, CSP said. 

The Colorado Bureau of Investigation is the lead agency in the investigation.