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Charges filed against man in I-70 police chase

VAIL — Charges have been filed against the 35-year-old man Edwards man who was arrested on Wednesday after reportedly fleeing authorities as they attempted to make a traffic stop on Interstate 70. Justin Aubry Hammond, the owner of a 1997 Dodge sedan, was detained by authorities at 3:10 p.m. Wednesday following a high-speed pursuit on westbound Interstate 70 at mile marker 168.

Hammond has since been charged with child abuse, reckless endangerment, littering of public or private property, felony eluding, leaving the scene of an accident, reckless driving, speeding and crossing the median.

The incident began at approximately 2:46 p.m. Wednesday when Vail officers were dispatched to the report of a motor vehicle accident at eastbound I-70 at mile marker 172. Witnesses indicated that a vehicle had hit a guardrail and the male driver was acting erratic. When officers arrived, the vehicle was gone.



As officers canvased the area to locate the vehicle, the Vail Public Safety Communications Center began receiving a series of reports from motorists on I-70 that the driver was repeatedly crashing the vehicle and continuing to drive recklessly on the interstate.

Child in Vehicle Unhurt

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At 2:59 p.m., Vail officers spotted the vehicle headed eastbound on I-70 at mile marker 176. After initiating lights and sirens in an attempt to make a traffic stop, the vehicle sped away at a high rate of speed. Eagle County Sheriff’s Office, the Avon Police Department and the Vail Police Department collaborated to create a break in the traffic to allow responding officers to use stop sticks to disable the vehicle. The vehicle was stopped in the median near mile marker 168 where Hammond was taken into custody without further incident. A child in the vehicle had no obvious injuries and was transported by Eagle County Paramedic Services to Vail Valley Medical Center for evaluation.


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