PAWNEE COUNTY — A female suspect will face a variety of traffic charges after she was treated and released for injuries sustained after a high-speed chase that covered 40 miles and crossed four counties Sunday morning.
Dan Dilbreto, Kansas Highway patrolman for Barton-Stafford counties, said speeds reached 80 to 90 mph in a pursuit on wet roads before the suspect was stopped in Pawnee County with the assistance of spike strips at 11:17 a.m. Sunday. The suspect was treated and released at Great Bend Regional Hospital after sustaining a possible injury.
“The driver was fleeing from law enforcement westbound on K-19 in Pawnee County when the driver swerved to avoid spike stripes and lost control of her vehicle,” he said. “The vehicle entered the south ditch and rolled once.”
Dilbreto said Crystal Marie Boucher, 31, of Kinsley, was booked into the Barton County Jail and held on a $5,000 bond. She will face a variety of traffic offenses in Barton County District Court, including attempted flee and elude, speeding and reckless driving. He said she has an Edwards County warrant for a stolen vehicle and a Dickinson County warrant for failure to appear.
The patrolmen reported Boucher is suspected of stealing a 2006 Chevrolet HHR from her aunt in Kinsley after an apparent argument. The report of a stolen vehicle was dispatched at 10:30 a.m. Sunday and Dilbreto saw the vehicle northbound on U.S. 281 heading from Stafford County into Barton County.
The patrolman said spike strips were placed on U.S. 281 south of Great Bend, but the driver performed a U-turn and started driving south. The pursuit entered Stafford County before the driver proceeded westbound on K-19, heading toward Larned. Another set of spike strips was placed on K-19 seven miles west of Larned.
“The driver attempted to drive around the spike strips and rolled the vehicle,” Dilbreto said.