Driver eludes police

The Daily Inter Lake

A driver of a stolen car led police on a cross town chase early Saturday morning.

The driver escaped on foot after ditching the car in the Flathead River. Police have no suspects.

The chase began at about 2 a.m. Saturday when a Montana Highway patrolman attempted to stop a car traveling northbound on Airport Road. The car was dragging something and kicking up sparks, according to reports.

Instead of stopping, the car crossed U.S. 93 and took off northbound on Kalispell's east side at about 45 mph.

Officers contacted the registered owner of the car, who looked outside his Fifth Avenue West home and told police that the car was missing. He later filed a stolen-vehicle report with the Kalispell Police Department.

Police deployed spike strips as the car neared Conrad Drive, but the vehicle managed to avoid them.

The chase eventually ended at about 2:30 a.m. when the driver crashed the car in the Flathead River about half a mile south of the Old Steel Bridge. The driver fled the crippled vehicle on foot, and officers were unable to find the suspect in the woods.