A habitual traffic offender led troopers on a chase this morning in Jefferson County that ended when he crashed into a tree and fled on foot before being captured.
The incident started about 6 a.m. on Colorado Highway 119, near Black Hawk, when a silver Ford Escape was stopped for driving with fake license plates, according to the Colorado State Patrol.
The driver of the Escape, Sonia Zamudio, 39, of Commerce City, was arrested for driving while her license was under restraint, displaying fictitious plates, and having no proof of insurance, the state patrol said in a media release.
As Zamudio was placed into custody to be taken from the scene, a passenger in the Escape, Harles Apodaca, 46, of Denver, was offered a courtesy ride to Black Hawk where he could be picked up by a friend or family member.
Apodaca was told to wait for a Gilpin County Sheriff’s deputy but he instead drove the Escape away after the trooper left with Zamudio.
The Escape was spotted about 7:25 a.m. near U.S. Highway 6. Apodaca refused to stop and fled state troopers. The Escape, with troopers in pursuit, sped to Lakewood where it headed north on Simms Street and crashed into a tree at West 20th Avenue, the state patrol said.
Apodaca fled on foot but was caught a short time later in the 2000 block of Routt Street.
He is being held in the Jefferson County Jail on suspicion of vehicular eluding and resisting arrest among other possible charges.
No one was injured in the incident.
Kieran Nicholson: 303-954-1822 or knicholson@denverpost.com.
