3 taken into custody, injured in Helena Valley rollover crash following MHP pursuit

A Montana Highway Patrol trooper performed a PIT maneuver on a vehicle in the Helena Valley on Tuesday afternoon to end a pursuit that reached speeds of 120 mph, according to an agency spokesperson and the Lewis and Clark County sheriff.

There were three people inside the vehicle during the pursuit, all of whom were taken into custody and taken to a Helena hospital, according to MHP spokesperson Kylie Gibson. The driver suffered minor injuries, while the two passengers suffered non-life-threatening injuries, Gibson said.

Butte-Silver Bow police first told MHP that a vehicle had fled from them just after 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, Gibson said. Lewis and Clark County Sheriff Leo Dutton told the Independent Record police in Butte were serving a probationary arrest warrant for someone in the vehicle.

Gibson said troopers located the vehicle, a silver SUV, in Helena not long after and initiated a pursuit on northbound Interstate 15, which at times reached speeds of 120 mph.

The vehicle got off the interstate at the Cedar Street exit and headed north. Near the intersection of Masonic Home Road and Glass Drive, about 3 miles north of the Custer exit, the trooper used a PIT maneuver on the vehicle, which led to a rollover crash into a field.

A PIT maneuver, also known as precision immobilization technique, is when law enforcement use their vehicle to push the chased vehicle to the side, causing it to lose traction and slide.

The vehicle was seen by the Independent Record shortly after the crash with extensive damage to its front end and roof. Paramedics were still working on some of the people at the scene before they were taken to the hospital.

Gibson said Helena police and Lewis and Clark County sheriff’s deputies assisted. Dutton said the agencies were “getting into position” when the crash occurred.

“I’m thankful that none of the traveling public was injured when someone made a decision to break the law,” he said.

Further information was not immediately available at press time.