Fbi Checking Death Of Man Who Scuffled With Police

A Pocatello man who suffered a concussion in a scuffle with Boise police acted against the hospital’s general recommendations when he tried to drive home by himself.

Derreck Thomas Rudd, 20, an Idaho State University sophomore, was driving through Arco when he suddenly veered across oncoming traffic and smashed into a parked car at about 45 mph. The car left no skid marks.

The FBI is investigating whether Rudd’s death was related to his run-in with police 21 hours earlier.

Officer John Terry had punched Rudd several times after chasing him down in a Boise parking lot. Officers had become suspicious of Rudd after seeing him walking behind some businesses at 1:19 a.m. on Feb. 7. He ran and they pursued him. After the Ada County Jail refused to take him because of the injuries, officers drove Rudd to the hospital.

An emergency room physician who treated him at St. Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise said Rudd suffered from a mild concussion and broken bones in his face.

Patients discharged from St. Al’s receive verbal and written after-care instructions, Director of Emergency and Trauma Services Chris Marselle said. With head injuries like Rudd’s, recommendations include 24-hour supervision.

Rudd’s parents picked him up from the hospital and drove him to his car. Rudd “jumped in the car and took off before they could stop him,” Butte County Sheriff Cary Van Etten said.

Rudd was not wearing a safety belt. A later blood test showed no alcohol was in his system. Autopsy results had not been completed by Friday.