(Fremont County, WY) – Seth Smith pled “not guilty” to various charges stemming from a June 20 high-speed chase in Riverton at his arraignment hearing held yesterday, July 10, before the Honorable Judge Jason Conder in Lander’s District Court.
A jury trial has been set for November 17.
Smith pled “not guilty” to: aggravated fleeing or attempting to elude police officers (felony, maximum sentence of 5 years imprisonment and $5,000 in fines); DWUI (misdemeanor, maximum sentence of 6 months imprisonment and $750 in fines); reckless endangering (misdemeanor, maximum sentence of one year imprisonment); reckless driving (misdemeanor, 6 months imprisonment and $750 in fines); open container (misdemeanor, maximum sentence of 20 days imprisonment and a $200 fine); speeding on a highway (misdemeanor, maximum sentence of 20 days imprisonment and a $200 fine); driving on a roadway laned for Traffic (misdemeanor, maximum sentence of 20 days imprisonment and a $200 fine); and no safety belt.
Court documents filed on June 23 state that on June 21 (the original post from the Wyoming Highway Patrol stated it was June 20), around 11 PM, a WHP trooper was patrolling on Highway 789 in Riverton City limits when he heard “tires chirp” to his right, drawing his attention.
The trooper then observed a dark SUV in the right-hand lane next to his vehicle “slam on the brakes upon noticing his marked patrol car.”
The trooper slowed down behind the vehicle to conduct a traffic stop, but the vehicle accelerated and began driving away, even after the patrol car lights were activated.
The vehicle continued northbound out of town as speeds “climbed over 100 mph.”
The trooper continued to pursue the vehicle after determining the traffic was light enough for a safe pursuit, which then increased to speeds of 110-130 mph.
During the pursuit, the trooper noticed the driver of the vehicle swerving from shoulder to shoulder, and later directly at oncoming vehicles, causing them to swerve into the ditch to avoid a head-on collision, the affidavit document continues to inform.
Speeds continued at 115-130 MPH, but when the vehicle slowed down at a curve, the trooper performed a tactical vehicle intervention maneuver, in which he bumped and accelerated the patrol car into the fleeing vehicle, causing it to enter a ditch and spin clockwise, ultimately tripping and rolling “multiple times” before coming to a stop.
Troopers on scene then approached the vehicle with guns drawn, where they found Smith alone in the passenger seat, which indicated to law enforcement that he had not been wearing a seat belt.
The affidavit also states that after Smith was handcuffed (from the front due to injuries), he began showing signs of either a “mental health crisis and/or (being) heavily under the influence of drugs and alcohol.”
Troppers also observed an open alcohol can with a keyhole notch in the bottom, indicating it had been “shotgunned.”
After Smith was later treated for his injuries and deemed “clear of any suspicious injuries” by medical staff, he was then released into the original trooper’s custody and taken to the Fremont County detention center, where he later submitted to a BAC sampling, which “registered at .109%.”
The affidavit concludes by stating that the trooper recommended that Smith receive a felony eluding charge due to the “multiple lives he endangered by swerving toward oncoming vehicles, which only avoided collisions with him due to their own defensive driving.”
(The WHP also requested that if you were one of the vehicles forced off the road by this driver, please reach out via Messenger on the WHP Facebook page.)
As stated above, Smith’s jury trial has been set for November 17.
County 10 will provide additional details on Smith’s case as they become available, which can be viewed here.