23 year-old Steven Tyler Simpkins is in the Missoula County Jail after leading five law enforcement agencies on a high speed pursuit in winter conditions from Hamilton to Missoula.

Missoula County Undersheriff Rich Maricelli said Simpkins told authorities at about 6:00 p.m. on Monday, January 1 that he was racing to Missoula because of a sick child that allegedly needed attention in Missoula.

“Details are sketchy, but essentially he was claiming that his infant son in the vehicle with him was not breathing, so they tried to get him to pull over so that medical crews could treat the child, but he was ‘hell-bent’ on getting the child to Community Medical Center,” Maricelli said. “Hamilton Police and the Ravalli County Sheriff’s Office followed Simpkins at high speeds to the county line where the Montana Highway Patrol and Missoula County Sheriff’s deputies continued the pursuit.”

Maricelli said authorities cleared the way to Community’s emergency room, but when Simpkins arrived, he was alone in the vehicle and was taken into custody.

Simpkins has been charged with felony criminal endangerment, fleeing from or eluding a peace officer and other misdemeanors, and will appear in Missoula Justice Court on Wednesday, January 3 at 2:30 p.m.

 

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