A pair of alleged car thieves are in custody after leading police on a high-speed chase across three counties, from Routt into Summit.
It all went down late Tuesday. The two eluded cops east of Steamboat, sped from deputies in Kremmling, and then kept driving into Summit, even after their tires were popped.
At one point the driver, 29-year-old Samuel Rapisardo, of Denver, was doing 100 miles per hour on tire rims, swerving past Green Mountain Reservoir on Highway 9. As he continued south, he drove in the northbound lanes multiple times while turning the vehicle headlights on and off.
Rapisardo and his passenger, 40-year-old Jessica Peters, of Colorado Springs, were finally caught by Grand County deputies just south of I-70 in Summit.
Both were evaluated by Summit Fire and EMS. Rapisardo was taken to Summit Medical Center for pre-existing injuries and later transported to the Grand County Jail.
“Once again, a driver’s decision to not simply pull over when being contacted by law enforcement has resulted in another vehicle pursuit where they ultimately put others at risk,” Grand County Sheriff Brett Schroetlin says in a press release. “It is imperative that we as law enforcement, the judicial system and the community, continue to hold those individuals accountable for their actions.”
Rapisardo is charged with 15 crimes, including five felonies for drugs, vehicular eluding and assaulting a police officer.
Peters is charged with six felonies, including two for possession.