Former Griz player arrested after 115 mph chase

Caine Fitiausi-Fung was arrested March 4 in Lake County following a high-speed chase that began when Tribal Police officer T.J. Haynes clocked a vehicle at 77 mph through the 45 mph zone in Ravalli. According to charging documents, Haynes pursued the vehicle with lights flashing. The vehicle sped up heading north on U.S. 93, reaching speeds of over 115 mph, and endangering oncoming traffic by crossing the center line, documents state.

The vehicle attempted to turn east onto Kicking Horse Road but ended up in a ditch. The driver, Fitiausi-Fung, allegedly fled on foot northbound toward a residence.

Haynes deployed a Taser and was able to take Fitiausi-Fung into custody. During an interview, Fitiausi-Fung allegedly admitted to grabbing a phone away from a passenger and throwing it away so she could not call for help during the chase. Montana Highway Patrol officer Zach Miller was called to investigate the crash scene.

Fitiausi-Fung is charged with fleeing from or eluding a peace officer (misdemeanor), criminal destruction of or tampering with a communication device (misdemeanor), criminal endangerment (felony), and DUI (misdemeanor) after a breath sample showed a blood alcohol concentration of 0.102.

Fitiausi-Fung was a 2019 freshman walk-on linebacker for the University of Montana football team, but is no longer on the roster.