Deputies Chase Car 50 Miles Driver Abandons Vehicle After Race Through Mountain Pass

Sheriff’s deputies who tried to pull over a car with no license plates Tuesday wound up in a high-speed chase that ended about 50 miles later in the Silver Valley.

A passenger in the car, 42-year-old Linda Brooks, later was found and arrested by deputies. The driver was still on the loose as of late Tuesday.

Kootenai County deputies tried to pull over the car at 2:10 p.m. on Interstate 90 near the intersection of state Highway 41 when the car sped away eastbound.

Two county patrol cars chased the car at 80 mph over Fourth of July Pass. By the time they drove into Shoshone County, they were driving at speeds of 94 mph.

Kootenai County asked for help from Shoshone County deputies, and two more patrol cars joined the chase. Shoshone County did not have any “spikes,” which are used by law enforcement officers to stop cars by puncturing the tires.

The four patrol cars continued the chase until the Datsun pulled off the freeway at Two Mile Gulch, just west of Osburn.

The driver and passenger abandoned the car about two miles up Two Mile Gulch Road and ran into the brush, said Cpl. Mike Gunderson of the Shoshone County Sheriff’s Department.

Without knowing whether the fugitives were armed, the deputies chose not to chase them on foot, Gunderson said.

“It’s too easy to get hurt,” he said. “If you’re in a situation where you don’t know what they have, sometimes you swallow your pride and back away.”

Deputies did not search the abandoned vehicle, either, Gunderson said.

The passenger later was found walking down the road and was arrested by deputies. Brooks, whose address is in Kellogg, was booked on an outstanding bench warrant.

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