A man who authorities say walked away from the Canyon County Work Release Center is in the Elmore County Jail, after reportedly leading officers on a 100-mph two-county chase.
About 12:10 a.m. Monday, Meridian Police officers conducted a traffic stop near the intersection of South Main and Watertower Streets on a suspected impaired driver.
When officers instructed the driver -- later identified as Tyler Chipman, 19 -- to step out of the vehicle for a field sobriety test, “he fled the traffic stop at a high rate of speed,” according to Meridian Police Department Deputy Chief Tracy Basterrechea.
Chipman led officers through Meridian to Cherry Lane and Ten Mile Road, before getting on Interstate 84 at the Ten Mile Road interchange. He then sped eastbound on the Interstate. “Chipman continued driving in a reckless manner and almost hit a semi-truck while passing it on the right shoulder. The pursuit reached speeds of 100 mph,” Basterrechea said.
As the pursuit reached Elmore County, deputies there used “stop sticks” to flatten the front tires of Chipman’s vehicle near milepost 89. “Chipman continued to drive his vehicle, in spite of driving on the front rims, before Meridian officers rammed his vehicle and conducted a PIT maneuver to end the pursuit,” stated Basterrechea.
Chipman was arrested and booked into the Elmore County Jail on charges of felony eluding, driving under the influence (drugs), possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia and Ffilure to purchase a driver’s license.
It was also learned Chipman was a walkaway from the Canyon County Work Release Center, however a warrant had not yet been issued for his arrest, police said.
