Polson man in custody after New Year's Eve pursuit
Officer inspects the truck driven by Codie James Dana that eventually landed in the ditch near the intersection of Skyline and Glover Road on New Year's Eve, after a high-speed chase through Polson. (Jeff Smith photo)
A Polson man is in custody after leading law enforcement on a pursuit on the afternoon of New Year’s Eve.
According to Lake County Sheriff Don Bell and Undersheriff Ben Woods, a detective with the Lake County Sheriff’s Office responded to an indecent exposure call at the parking lot of the Safeway grocery store in Polson. The call was placed at around 12:06 p.m. Dec. 31.
As the detective walked up to the suspect’s gold Chevy pick-up, the driver fled, causing the pick-up’s side mirror to strike the detective’s elbow. The suspect allegedly continued to Hillcrest Dr. where he struck other motorists before reaching Skyline Dr. and proceeding south.
Woods says the suspect, later identified as Codie James Dana, 34, was traveling so fast that Woods lost sight of him, and other motorists were forced to take evasive action.
The pursuit ended when Dana’s pick-up crashed into a gray utility van at the intersection of Skyline Dr. and Dunham, just north of Pablo. Dana was arrested and brought to the Lake County Jail, where he was booked under felony charges of criminal endangerment and assault on a police officer and numerous misdemeanors.
Dana was on probation stemming from a DUI in another jurisdiction. He was in the Lake County Jail at the time of this report, with bail set at $250,000.