Man Arrested After a High-Speed Chase From Missoula to Polson
At around 2:00 a.m. on Friday, a Missoula Police Officer attempted to make a traffic stop near the intersection of North Orange Street and North Third Street after he determined that a vehicle did not have properly functioning brake lights. According to Police Public Information Officer Travis Welsh, the driver was identified as 30-year-old Ivan Ingraham.
“The officer approached the driver’s side and asked the driver for his identity,” Welsh said. “The officer recognized the male from previous information about a case of partner or family member assault. The officer was also aware that the male was wanted in connection with that case. The driver gave the officer a fictitious name. When asked to step out of the vehicle, the male put the car in gear and accelerated away.”
The officer sprinted back to his patrol vehicle and alerted that he was in pursuit of the vehicle. He activated his emergency lights and gave chase. The suspect vehicle quickly got on Interstate 90 and reached speeds in excess of 97 miles per hour.
At one point, the suspect vehicle disposed of a baggie with a white substance, which an officer believed to be methamphetamine. The officer said the substance burst upon contact with the air.
“The driver continued eastbound until he got to the Bonner exit,” Welsh said. “He exited, turned around, and went back westbound. The vehicle continued westbound on I-90 until it approached the Y. At that point, it took an exit to travel northbound on Highway 93 North. Other agencies join in the pursuit. At one point, Lake County Sheriff’s Deputies deployed stop sticks that eventually deflated the two front tires.”
The vehicle continued traveling northbound on its rims, showering the roadway with sparks. The vehicle came to a sudden stop at mile marker 63.5. An officer exited his patrol vehicle and drew his duty weapon.
“Ingraham came out as instructed and laid down on the ground,” Welsh said. “However, he hid one of his hands underneath his body and refused to reveal it. Officers were concerned that he may have possessed a weapon. However, he was eventually handcuffed and taken into custody.”
According to court documents, Ingraham told an officer that he had used his knees to drive the vehicle and injected methamphetamine into his arm during the pursuit. However, he said the meth did not affect him because he smokes it so frequently.
An officer performed a probation search on Ingraham’s vehicle. Inside the vehicle he located two glass marijuana pipes, a digital scale, and a two hypodermic needles, one which still had meth inside.
Ingraham is currently being charged with eight separate criminal offenses. He is being held for felony criminal mischief, felony tampering with or fabricating physical evidence, felony criminal possession of dangerous drugs, DUI, fleeing from or eluding a peace officer, resisting arrest, obstructing a peace officer, and criminal possession of drug paraphernalia.