Vehicles bashed in chase
Sgt. Jim Browder of the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office stands next to his wrecked Ford Expedition on Thursday morning in Kalispell. Browder’s SUV was struck by a driver following a high-speed chase through Kalispell early Thursday morning. Browder was treated for a sore back and neck from the crash.
This Sheriff’s Office Impala cruiser was clipped during a chase in Kalispell.
Racing through Kalispell closely chased by authorities, a Chevy Blazer hit two Sheriff’s Office vehicles before ramming head-on into a third around midnight Wednesday.
The driver, Emily Woodman, 28, of Rollins was taken into custody around 1 a.m. Thursday on pending charges of criminal endangerment. It is suspected she had been drinking.
Sgt. Jim Browder successfully ended the chase by blocking Woodman’s path with his Ford Expedition.
According to Browder, Woodman reportedly accelerated toward him and rammed his vehicle, crushing in his front driver’s side about 18 inches. The impact stopped Woodman and authorities were able to arrest her. Browder went to the hospital with a sore back and neck but was soon released.
“I’m just glad I was driving a big car,” said Browder, who is only months away from retirement after 25 years on the force.
Performing a pit manuever, Deputy Paul Burke used his Ford Crown Victoria to spin Woodman’s Blazer. As she swung around, Browder crossed the median, barring her way and stopping her vehicle with his near the Lucky Logger.
Woodman’s white Blazer was reportedly clocked at 65 miles per hour as it sped through town with Flathead County Sheriff’s deputies, Montana Highway Patrol and Kalispell Police in hot pursuit. Along U.S. 2, she was at times driving 40 miles per hour over the 25 mile-per-hour speed limit.
Hitting the Sheriff’s Office Ford Crown Victoria, Chevy Impala and twice colliding with the Ford Expedition, Woodman also evaded road spikes before the chase ended near the Town Pump on East Idaho Street.
The initial call reporting a possible drunk driver in the Somers area came in around 10 p.m. Wednesday. More calls indicated she was driving toward Kalispell, and a Montana Highway Patrol trooper caught up to Woodman and pulled her over in the Gateway Mall parking lot. But as the trooper approached the vehicle, Woodman reportedly took off, according to Browder.
Authorities chased Woodman as she drove west on U.S. 2 toward Hartt Hill. Reaching the hill’s crest, Woodman reportedly flipped a U-turn, apparently clipping the Expedition as she drove between it and a trooper’s vehicle attempting to block her path.
Then Woodman reportedly sped east along U.S. 2 and headed into the Kmart parking lot. Driving through the lot, she reportedly struck deputy Colton O’Connell’s Impala on the front driver’s side bumper, causing minor damage, before heading westbound on U.S. 2.
She evaded spikes in the road near Walmart before she was stopped.
Damage to the Expedition is estimated at around $14,000 and the Impala sustained an estimated $3,500 worth of damage. The extent of the damage to Woodman’s vehicle is unknown.
Woodman has an outstanding warrant out of Lakewood, Colo., on felony forgery and drug charges. She is awaiting formal charges from the Flathead County Attorney’s Office.
Browder said he gave himself the rest of the night off after the ordeal.