Four people were arrested Tuesday following a high-speed chase in two states involving a stolen vehicle, according to the North Dakota Highway Patrol.
Sgt. Josh Rude, Southeast Region of the patrol at Jamestown, said that the South Dakota Highway Patrol initiated a traffic stop of a 2005 Honda Pilot for reckless driving on the north edge of Aberdeen, S.D. The vehicle fled at speeds in excess of 100 mph on U.S. Highway 281, he said.
The patrol's pursuit continued into North Dakota on U.S. 281 around 11:40 a.m. before the vehicle apparently ran out of gas on the highway 13 miles north of Edgeley and pulled into a field approach on the east side of the highway. A standoff ensued for about 15 minutes as suspects refused to exit the vehicle despite numerous commands to exit over a PA system, Rude said.
Two suspects, Jerlyn Spider, 30, South Dakota, and Jeramiah Twobear, 23, Fargo, were eventually talked out of the vehicle and taken into custody without incident, Rude said. Four officers then approached the vehicle and removed the remaining two suspects, Daniel See Walker, 22, Fargo, and Kelli Spider, 18, South Dakota, who were passed out in the rear seat. Numerous containers of alcohol were scattered throughout the vehicle and all four subjects appeared to be extremely intoxicated, Rude said. The two men and two women were taken to the Jamestown Hospital emergency room before being turned over to the Stutsman County Correctional Center. They have been charged with possession of a stolen vehicle, Rude said.
He added that further investigation discovered the vehicle driven had been stolen and the four suspects are believed to have been involved in two additional pursuits in South Dakota early Tuesday.
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Jeff Lautenslager, game warden for the South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks Department, said he followed the vehicle for 47 miles along Highways 20 and 37 from Bradley, S.D., to Groton, S.D.
He said he followed the Honda Pilot because of its excessive speed and because State Radio was attempting to locate a vehicle with a similar description. Lautenslager said the Pilot sped through two construction zones and estimated the vehicle traveled at more than 80 miles per hour through those. In other areas, the driver was traveling at a higher rate of speed.
"He was definitely traveling over 100 miles per hour," Lautenslager said.
Agencies involved in the incident in addition to the Highway Patrol in North Dakota and South Dakota were Dickey, LaMoure and Stutsman counties' sheriff's departments, the North Dakota Stockmen's Association, Ellendale Police Department and Edgeley Ambulance.
The incident remains under investigation. Rude said the patrol is still determining who was driving the vehicle.
