Meridian man arrested after crashing his pickup truck in a 100-mph chase, sheriff says

A Meridian man was arrested after leading deputies on a high-speed pursuit through Cascade at speeds over 100 miles per hour and crashing his truck about 12 miles south of Cascade on Idaho 55, authorities said.

Christian Ryan, 23, was arrested after deputies shot out the truck’s rear and passenger windows with rubber bullets, the Valley County Sheriff’s Office said. No one was injured in the Feb. 5 incident, and Ryan was the only occupant of the vehicle.

According to the Sheriff’s Office:

Following a furious chase through Cascade, the black Toyota Tundra pickup truck headed south on Idaho 55, weaving in and around traffic while deputies kept pace behind.

In an effort to prevent a crash, sheriff’s pursuit cars backed off as the pickup approached the Payette River Canyon. Shortly after the pickup entered the canyon, the driver lost control and came to a stop off the side of the road, stuck in deep snow.

Deputies could see that the driver was still in the vehicle, but could not see him clearly.

“Deputies made several commands over the loudspeaker for the driver to exit the vehicle,” said Sheriff Kevin Copperi. “The windows were tinted enough that we could see movement, but were unable to tell what he was doing.”

Deputies then shot out the windows from a specialized launcher — not their regular service weapons — and the driver then came out with his hands visible through the back window, Copperi said.

The chase started shortly after 5 p.m. when a sheriff’s deputy spotted the truck traveling northbound into Cascade at over 100 miles per hour, Copperi said.

The vehicle was traveling at about 80 miles per hour where the speed limit is only 35 miles per hour, according to court documents.

The truck turned east off the highway onto a side road and was eventually pulled over by a deputy at the end of East Pine Street. The deputy told the driver to exit the vehicle with his hands up, Copperi said.

“The driver of the black truck accelerated toward the deputy, who had to jump out of the way, and drove around other responding units before turning back south on Idaho 55,” he said.

Deputies pursued the vehicle south on Idaho 55 at speeds that ranged from 60 to over 100 miles per hour with the truck erratically passing other vehicles, Copperi said. The pickup truck passed multiple vehicles and nearly caused several head-on collisions, he said.

The driver lost control and went off the roadway near milepost 101, where deputies caught up with the vehicle, lodged in the snowbank.

Arrestee has DUI, aggravated assault on record

Ryan was taken into custody and booked into the Valley County Detention Center on a $200,000 bond. He was arrested on accusations of felony eluding and aggravated assault on law enforcement as well as misdemeanor accusations of resisting arrest and a second offense of driving under the influence.

The charges carry sentences of up to 15 years in prison and fines up to $10,000, said Valley County Prosecuting Attorney Brian Naugle.

Ryan was set for a preliminary hearing on Tuesday, Feb. 18, at the Valley County Courthouse in Cascade before Magistrate Judge Adam Dingeldein.

Ryan was arrested for his first DUI in Ada County in 2022 and has been ticketed three times since 2020 for driving more than 15 miles per hour over the speed limit, according to court records.

He was found guilty of felony aggravated assault in 2023, records show. He served 180 days in Ada County Jail and is on probation until September 2028.

This story was originally published February 14, 2025 at 9:36 AM.