Man crashes, girl hospitalized after police pursuit reaches 100 mph
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ST. ANTHONY — An Ashton man was arrested following a high-speed chase that ended in a crash Thursday night.
It began when a Fremont County Sheriff’s deputy driving westbound on U.S. Highway 20 near St. Anthony spotted a small car drive eastbound going 100 mph. The deputy turned his patrol vehicle around to try and catch up. As the speeding car approached the Chester area, the deputy says the driver slammed on the brakes because of surrounding traffic. The car then sped up as it weaved in and out of traffic, according to court documents.
ISP troopers near Ashton were notified and the deputy could not keep up while driving 115 mph. The deputy lost sight of the car and kept driving toward Ashton.
Dispatchers then notified the deputy of a single-car crash at Fall River Electric just off the Highway. As law enforcement arrived, they found the small black car had gone off the road and hit a power pole.
The driver, 18-year-old Samuel Sulzer, told deputies that a black car pushed him off the road and caused the crash. Sulzer said the other car drove away, according to court documents, and that a female minor, who was a family member, was injured in the front seat when the airbags deployed.
Sulzer and the victim were not wearing seatbelts, deputies wrote.
Investigators spoke with the girl while waiting for an ambulance and her story did not match Sulzer’s versions of events, according to court documents. Deputies told Sulzer they did not believe his story. He then allegedly said he did not know how fast he was going and did not see flashing lights behind him.
An ambulance arrived and the girl was taken to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center. Deputies asked Sulzer again why he did not stop.
“He said he got scared and panicked,” a deputy wrote in the probable cause. “I asked Sam how fast he was going and he said between 130-140 mph.”
After deputies took Sulzer to the Fremont County Jail, they learned the girl sustained two broken bones in her back and she was in surgery at the hospital.
Sulzer is charged with felony eluding and posted $20,000 bail. A preliminary hearing is set for Nov. 18 before Magistrate Judge Faren Eddins.
Sulzer is presumed innocent until a guilty plea is entered or he is convicted by a jury.