Sheriff's office releases bodycam footage

The Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office released bodycam footage following a pursuit on Interstate 80 Saturday morning. The office also seeks help in the ongoing investigation of the incident.

At approximately 9:15 a.m., Saturday, sheriff’s deputies responded to the area of Elk Street and Yellowstone Road to aid in seeking a vehicle that had failed to stop for an attempted traffic stop and was possibly fleeing from police.

The vehicle, a Chevy Impala, was located minutes later driving at a high rate of speed on Elk. According to a release from the sheriff’s office, the deputy spotting the vehicle activated the patrol vehicles lights and sirens, but the driver of the Impala refused to stop.

After pursuing the suspect vehicle for over 15 miles through Rock Springs and toward Green River, the car was eventually stopped on I-80 West by the Green River tunnels with the help of the successful deployment of a tire inflation device by officers from Green River Police Department and a commercial truck driver who partially blocked the road for deputies at the mouth of the westbound tunnel.

The driver was arrested and the pursuit ended without further incident.

The office, in coordination with the Sweetwater County Attorney’s Office, released a portion of footage captured by a deputy’s bodycam.

The video depicts the white Impala entering the median on Dewar Drive, near Winston Drive, before veering into and swerving across oncoming traffic lanes. The car then drifts head-on toward, what looks like, a dark-green Dodge Dakota pickup, seemingly forcing the pickup’s driver to slow and begin moving into the adjoining lane of travel.

The white car then cuts in front of and accelerates away from the oncoming truck, momentarily returning back into the proper lane of travel.

The sheriff’s office strongly encourages anyone with information as to the identity of the driver or occupants of the pickup truck captured in this video, along with any other involved motorists who were traveling on Yellowstone, Elk, Center, Dewar or I-80 at the time of this incident, to please contact Sgt. Steve Paladino by phone at (307) 922-5339.