According to court documents, the Riverton man accused of leading Fremont County officers on a 130-mph car chase through a construction zone last week could face up to seven years and forty days in prison.
Seth Alberto Smith, 23, has a preliminary hearing scheduled for Tuesday in Riverton Circuit Court.
Fremont County Deputy Attorney Jonah Buckley charged Smith on 23 June with:
One count of aggravated fleeing — punishable by up to five years in prison and $5,000 in fines.
DUI — up to six months in jail and $750 in fines.
Reckless endangering — up to one year in jail.
Reckless driving — up to six months in jail and $750 in fines.
Open containers — up to $200 in fines.
Highway speeding — up to 20 days in jail and $200 in fines.
Changing lanes unsafely — up to 20 days and $200 in fines.
Not wearing a seatbelt — up to $25 in fines.
The Chase
At about 12 minutes after 12 a.m. June 21, Wyoming Highway Patrol Trooper Brandon Deckert was patrolling Riverton’s busiest thoroughfare, Federal Boulevard, when he noticed tires chirping to his right, says an evidentiary affidavit filed in the case.
A dark-coloured SUV in the right lane accelerated before coming to a halt, as if the driver had just noticed the trooper’s vehicle.
Deckert turned on his overhead lights and attempted to initiate a traffic stop, but the vehicle sped back up and bolted north towards the town of Shoshoni, according to the document.
When the vehicle reached 100 mph, Deckert concluded it was obvious that it would not stop, according to the affidavit.
According to the document, Deckert radioed to dispatch that he was involved in a car chase. He debated whether to continue chasing or give up for safety reasons, but traffic was “extremely light” at the time, so he stayed on the chase.
The suspect vehicle hit 130 mph north of town, according to the affidavit.
Deckert knew there weren’t any on-duty troopers between there and Shoshoni who could lay stock sticks, “if that were even possible,” so he had dispatch notify Thermopolis-area troopers, and overheard Trooper Nick Warren call for Shoshoni Police Department personnel, according to the report.
95-MPH Wrestling Match
Meanwhile, the Chevrolet Equinox with Wyoming plates swerved from shoulder to shoulder, leading Deckert to believe the driver was “impaired,” according to the affidavit.
The driver repeatedly swerved towards oncoming traffic, and vehicles bailed into the barrow ditch to avoid collisions, according to the trooper.
Deckert informed other personnel that he was going to conduct a tactical vehicle intervention.
He struggled to close the gap between himself and the Equinox, but when the latter slowed on a curve, Deckert sped up to it, hit its right rear corner with his front left bumper corner, and accelerated into the vehicle to spin it around. According to the affidavit, both cars were travelling at around 95 mph when they collided.
The Equinox spun clockwise, and Deckert turned around to “pin it,” but it entered the ditch, became entangled in the terrain, and rolled several times, according to the document.
Another trooper requested an ambulance “immediately,” it adds.
Shining
According to the affidavit, Deckert parked his vehicle so that its headlights illuminated the Equinox, and three other troopers approached it with guns drawn.
According to the affidavit, they opened the passenger door and discovered Smith lying on the passenger seat, alone in the car, and not wearing his seat belt.
Haller and Deckert dragged him from the car and onto the ground, where troopers handcuffed him in front of his body due to his injuries, according to reports.
“Smith was screaming and reciting parts of a prayer,” according to the document. Troopers were concerned that he was experiencing a mental health crisis or was heavily intoxicated.
According to the affidavit, they discovered an open alcohol can in the vehicle with a key hole notched into the bottom that appeared to have been “shotgunned.”
And my wife
According to the document, a Shoshoni Police Department officer arrived with his wife, who works as a nurse.
She assisted Smith until the emergency medical personnel arrived.
Responders then “loaded Smith onto the gurney and hauled him up the hill into the ambulance,” which took him to SageWest Health Care in Riverton, according to the affidavit.
A nurse at the hospital took two vials of blood from Smith’s arm, which Decker took custody of. An MRI revealed that Smith was “clear of any suspicious injuries” and cleared to travel to the Fremont County Detention Centre in Lander, so Deckert drove him there, according to the document.
Smith submitted a blood-alcohol sample at 6:06 a.m., about six hours after the car chase began, and it registered at 0.109% BAC, according to the affidavit.
