Sheriff's Vehicle Bashed Head On In High-Speed Chase

Sunday night went out with a bang for the Valley County Sheriff’s Office. What started as a vehicle doing donuts in a yard turned into a 45-minute high speed chase.

Nicholas Davis and Austine Beil, both of Hinsdale, were both arrested on multiple charges.

The call came into dispatch around 9:49 p.m. The caller, Tom Sunford of Saco, said a white extended cab Ford Ranger pulled into his yard. The truck’s occupants reportedly had been visiting other neighbors in a winter wheat field.

Sunford said he tried to get the plate numbers off the vehicle and followed them with his own pickup truck, but when he got close enough, they stopped their vehicle and rammed him, trying to break the windshield.

The suspects then began to pursue Sunford, and his brother began to follow the suspects in another pickup, according to the report. As the suspects drove onto Cash Creek Road, the sheriff’s office headed out to intercept the suspects, east toward Hinsdale. The Phillips County Sheriff’s Office and Border Patrol were notified of the situation.

The vehicle continued moving through fields and in speeds over 100 mph, and the two male occupants were driving toward Thoeny. The vehicle went off the road in a field and ended up colliding, head-on,with a Valley County sheriff’s vehicle. Another sheriff vehicle traveled quickly on a flat tire to help intercept and help at the scene.

At 10:50 p.m., the two suspects, Davis and Beil were in custody. Two vehicles had damage by the end of the chase. No serious injuries were reported in the incident.

Beil, 20, will be charged with criminal endangerment, which is a felony, reckless driving, and aggravated driving under the influence, and other other charges may be pending.

Davis, 31, will be charged with selling or giving an alcoholic beverage to minors and littering. He may also have other charges pending.

Valley County Sheriff Glen Meier said that in this incident everyone was lucky to walk away without any injury, and the damage to the vehicles may total more than $10,000.