Authorities in Idaho Springs, Colorado, witnessed a unique incident on Thursday night as a group of snowplow drivers on Interstate 70 collaborated to help apprehend a suspect evading law enforcement. The entire event was recorded on video for further review.
The Idaho Springs Police Department shared the video on its Facebook page on Friday morning.
The suspect, 27-year-old Brendan Fooks from Denver, was apprehended and faces numerous charges related to the events of that Thursday night, in addition to two outstanding warrants from separate incidents, according to law enforcement officials.
At approximately 11:30 p.m., an Idaho Springs police officer spotted a black Hyundai Accent with a broken taillight on the eastbound lanes of Interstate 70 near mile marker 241. Upon running the vehicle’s plates, the officer discovered that the car had been reported stolen from Northglenn and was linked to a robbery and evasion case in Lakewood earlier in the week.
The officer tried to pull the suspect over, but the driver did not stop, police said.
Law enforcement from the Clear Creek Sheriff’s Office and Gilpin County Sheriff’s Office responded to help Idaho Springs police. They tried to use stop sticks, but were not successful. They then tried a tactical rolling roadblock, but the suspect “aggressively avoided the maneuver, striking a (Clear Creek) deputy’s vehicle,” the police department said. And so the pursuit continued.
Law enforcement did not know it, but snowplows up ahead on eastbound I-70 would play a massive role in Fooks’ arrest that night.
As authorities continued following the suspect — with lights and sirens on — they spotted the three snowplows traveling eastbound up Floyd Hill. The plow drivers, spread across all three lanes of the highway, saw the incoming scene behind them and began to slow down. In dashboard police footage, the suspect’s car veered slightly into another lane and then back into the left lane as if trying to find a way around the plows. The video ends with the suspect coming to a full stop behind the trucks.
You can watch the full video from the police department below.
Colorado snow plow drivers help end police pursuit on I-70
Fooks, the only person in the car, surrendered to police.
The Idaho Springs Police Department said nobody was injured during the pursuit and the Clear Creek deputy’s car that was hit had minor damage.
Fooks told police he had been in the area scouring businesses to steal from, and was under the influence of alcohol and drugs. When authorities searched the car, they found “tools commonly used for burglary” as well as alcohol and drug paraphernalia, the police department said.
Fooks had two active warrants out of Broomfield related to alleged trespassing and shoplifting. He was arrested on those warrants, as well as new charges of vehicular eluding, aggravated motor vehicle theft, possession of burglary tools, DUI, possession of drug paraphernalia, reckless driving, and displaying fictitious license plates.
A district attorney will determine final charges against Fooks. He has a hearing on advisement scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Friday.
