LARIMER COUNTY, Colo. — A Denver man is accused of using his vehicle to try to hit a deputy and causing a crash that injured two passengers and killed a dog last month in Larimer County, the sheriff's office said on Monday.
Van Radley, 38, faces 10 charges in the crash on May 18 in Berthoud:
- Attempted first-degree murder after deliberation
- Attempted first-degree murder - extreme indifference
- Second-degree kidnapping
- Vehicular eluding with injury
- Aggravated cruelty to animals
- Vehicular assault - reckless
- False reporting of identity to law enforcement
- 2 counts of aggravated driving with license revoked
- Reckless driving
A Larimer County Sheriff's Office deputy spotted Radley's vehicle, a gray sedan with no license plates, near Interstate 25 and Highway 56 in Johnstown. He tried to pull over the vehicle but the driver went west on Highway 56 at speeds of more than 100 mph, the sheriff's office said in a news release.
Another deputy planned to use tire spikes as the pursuit approached 1st Street and Mountain Avenue in Berthoud. The driver swerved toward the deputy, who had to get behind cover to avoid being hit. The driver then swerved again, causing the vehicle to roll and land on top of a sheriff's office K9 vehicle, before it finally came to rest in the road.
Deputies removed all three occupants of the vehicle: the driver, identified as Radley, and two adult passengers. All three were injured and taken to a hospital. A dog in the vehicle was killed.
No one else was injured, the sheriff's office said.
“This shocking act of reckless violence threatened the lives of community members and first responders and, sadly, claimed the life of an innocent animal,” said Larimer County Sheriff John Feyen. “We cannot continue to allow dangerous offenders to cause harm without consequence.”
Radley is being held on $75,000 bail in jail in Weld County, where the pursuit began.
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