Man Steals Truck, Crashes In Boulder County: Deputies

BOULDER, CO — A man faces charges after crashing a stolen vehicle in Westminster Monday, the Boulder County Sheriff's Office said. Deputies and police followed the driver throughout several regions after he refused to pull over, officials said.

Johnny Reyes Perez, 35, faces multiple charges, including aggravated motor vehicle theft, speeding, vehicular eluding, attempted assault of a police officer, reckless endangerment, criminal mischief and leaving the scene of an accident. He was hospitalized with injuries that weren't life threatening, the sheriff's office said. Two passengers who were in the vehicle were also hospitalized, but as of Monday afternoon, their condition was not known.

Reyes Perez was seen driving 92 mph near Highway 287 and Lookout Road, the sheriff's office said. Deputies tried to pull him over, but he continued south, then turned around and drove in the northbound lanes of traffic to get away, according to officials.

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"The truck eluded deputies and officers of the Louisville and Lafayette Police Departments as it turned off its lights and drove at excessive speeds and in the wrong lane of travel," the Boulder County Sheriff's Office said in a news release.

"The truck drove through a fenced construction area. The truck also attempted to strike one marked patrol vehicle and came very close to hitting a second patrol vehicle."

Reyez Perez then drove through Broomfield into Westminster, where police had set up stop sticks, officials said. He then tried to turn onto 104th Avenue, but crashed the into a concrete barrier and the truck flipped onto its roof in a culvert.

"The driver and two passengers were conscious and breathing and were transported to a local hospital for evaluation," the news release said.

Reyes Perez will be arrested after his hospitalization, officials said.