For about 90 minutes on Thursday morning, law enforcement in four counties focused on stopping a green BMW SUV as it fled west along U.S. Highway 160 after the woman driver refused to get out of her vehicle during a traffic stop.
Sabrina Bullock, 40, of Santa Fe, New Mexico, was taken into custody about 11:30 a.m. in La Plata County on suspicion of vehicular eluding. She could face additional felony charges, authorities said.
The pursuit started around 9:40 a.m. when authorities in Rio Grande County stopped Bullock for going 60 miles per hour in a 30 mph zone. Bullock allegedly refused to get out of her green BMW SUV, so authorities broke a tinted window to get her out.
But Bullock fled west along Highway 160, through South Fork, over Wolf Creek Pass and through Pagosa Springs, according to State Patrol Cpt. Adrian Driscoll. Along the way, she allegedly rammed a Sheriff’s Office vehicle and attempted to ram a State Patrol trooper, according to La Plata County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Dan Bender.
Bullock’s vehicle was spotted about 11 a.m. by a La Plata County deputy near the La Plata-Archuleta county line.
“When the deputy tried to make contact with the vehicle, it fled, going 80 miles per hour with a deputy behind it,” Bender said. “The sheriff’s deputy and CSP deployed spikes to attempt to puncture the tires at the 48,000 block of Highway 160, east of Deer Valley subdivision.”
Bender said all four tires on the suspect’s vehicle were punctured, and she attempted to elude authorities by turning into a driveway of a home at 47320 Highway 160, where she was apprehended around 11:30 a.m.
Two dogs were in the car with Bullock, but both were unharmed, authorities said. Bullock was taken to the La Plata County jail.
No drugs or alcohol were suspected in Thursday’s incident.
As the pursuit wore on, authorities tried to monitor the vehicle from a distance to keep speeds lower.
Colorado State Patrol, the Bayfield marshal, deputies from Archuleta and La Plata counties and others were involved.
jpace@durangoherald.com
