A Loveland man who led Larimer County sheriff's deputies on a wrong-way chase down Interstate 25 has been sentenced to 22 years in the Department of Corrections. Thomas Edward Mazza pleaded guilty to attempted assault in the first degree, eluding with injury, and driving under the influence following a September 2025 pursuit that injured a motorcyclist and, according to the sheriff's office, endangered hundreds of lives.
A Traffic Stop Spirals Into a High-Speed Pursuit
According to the Larimer County District Attorney's Office, Mazza was sentenced after prosecutors secured his guilty plea to attempted assault in the first degree, a class four felony, eluding with injury, a class four felony, and driving under the influence, a class one misdemeanor. The office said in a statement, “Today, Thomas Edward Mazza was sentenced to 22 years in the Department of Corrections after our office secured his guilty plea for Attempted Assault in the First Degree, a class four felony, Eluding with Injury, a class four felony, and Driving Under the Influence, a class one misdemeanor.” Mazza was arrested Sept. 15, 2025, after Larimer County Sheriff's Office deputies attempted a traffic stop for several violations in south Loveland, as reported by the Greeley Tribune.
Before deputies could pull him over, Mazza was weaving in and out of his traffic lane and had mismatched license plates on his vehicle, according to the Reporter-Herald. Rather than stop, he refused to pull over, began evading deputies, and drove at excessive speeds, the same account notes. The pursuit then turned especially dangerous when Mazza drove south in the northbound lanes of I-25 near Berthoud, through a construction zone, putting oncoming drivers directly in his path.
A Motorcyclist Hurt and Hundreds of Lives at Risk
The chase left a trail of damage across the highway. The sheriff's office said the incident involved five crashes and endangered hundreds of lives in the community, writing in a Facebook post that it was “extremely grateful that this offender will be held accountable for his reckless actions, which injured a motorcyclist, caused five crashes, and endangered hundreds of lives in our community.” The district attorney's office separately said Mazza passed over 200 vehicles and put many community members at risk during the pursuit, the Greeley Tribune reported.
A motorcyclist crashed while trying to avoid Mazza's vehicle and was injured but was later released from the hospital, per the Reporter-Herald. Deputies ultimately ended the chase with a high-risk stop known as a PIT maneuver, forcing Mazza's vehicle to a stop so they could take him into custody, the station's report notes.
Prosecutors Drop Additional Charges in Plea Deal
As part of the plea agreement, prosecutors dropped a number of more serious charges, including seven counts of violent crime with a weapon, six counts of attempted first-degree assault, vehicular eluding, and false imprisonment, according to the same account. In exchange, Mazza pleaded guilty to the three counts that led to his 22-year sentence.
District Attorney Gordon McLaughlin said eluding law enforcement is extremely reckless and puts innocent lives in danger, describing Mazza's conduct as extreme and showing a blatant disregard for human life. McLaughlin also expressed gratitude to his team for holding Mazza accountable. A Larimer County Sheriff's Office deputy who investigated the case described the eluding as the most egregious example the deputy had ever witnessed, while the judge who handed down the sentence called the case extraordinary and said the terror experienced by each of those involved will never leave them.
