Oregon State Police troopers used spike strips Tuesday afternoon to stop a driver who led police on a 170-mile pursuit from Mountain Home to Baker City, Ore.
The chase began at about 10:35 a.m. when Idaho State Police received a complaint about the driver of a gray 2014 Ford Mustang driving recklessly on Interstate 84 west of Mountain Home.
The driver refused to stop and drove at speeds up to 146 miles an hour, the Oregon State Police reported.
Troopers from the OSP’s Ontario command office picked up the pursuit at the Idaho-Oregon border and tried to stop the car with a spike strip there but were unsuccessful.
Troopers backed off when the driver went through two freeway construction zones. Oregon Department of Transportation workers were notified to clear out of the construction zone before the Mustang and chase vehicles reached the construction areas. An OSP plane monitored the Mustang and kept troopers on the ground informed on the car’s location.
In northeastern Oregon, state police and officers from the Baker City and Baker County police agencies joined in the pursuit. A state trooper used a spike strip to flatten the Mustang’s tires and then another trooper used a “PIT maneuver” to stop the vehicle.
Curtis Alvon Gentry, 33, of Albuquerque, N.M., was taken into custody without further incident. He was taken to the Baker County Jail, where he was charged with reckless driving and attempt to elude.
OSP Ontario and La Grande area command troopers were assisted by the Idaho State Police, Payette County Sheriff's Office, Ontario City Police, Baker City Police, and Baker County Sheriff's Office.
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