In a rare turn of events on Interstate 70, snowplow drivers from the Colorado Department of Transportation played a crucial role in apprehending a suspect who was fleeing from police on Thursday night. The chase, involving a 27-year-old Denver man named Brendan Fooks, ended after a strategic blockade by these snowplows near Floyd Hill, as reported by 9NEWS.
The pursuit initiated by Idaho Springs Police began approximately at 11:30 p.m. when an officer noticed Fooks driving a black Hyundai Accent with a nonfunctioning taillight. Despite the attempts by officers using stop sticks and a tactical rolling roadblock, the driver managed to persist until snowplows, operating on their typical mission to secure the wintry roads, inadvertently became the agents of law enforcement, stopping the vehicle dead in its tracks. According to a video posted on the Idaho Springs Police Department's Facebook page, detailed by Denver7, the lineup of snowplows acted as an impromptu barrier, hemming Fooks in and bringing the high-speed chase to a halt.
Earlier attempts to detain Fooks turned dangerous when the pursued vehicle aggressively avoided a maneuver by law enforcement and hit a Clear Creek County Sheriff’s Office car, causing minor damage. This incident, along with Fooks' affiliation with a stolen vehicle and a strong-arm robbery in Lakewood on New Year's Eve, compounded the charges against him. He was arrested on these grounds in addition to two unrelated warrants, confirmed by KDVR.
