Co. Springs Police arrest repeat offender after pursuit ends in spin-out crash, witness reacts

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - A man with over a dozen criminal cases on file is now back in custody after leading members of the Colorado Springs Police Department on a chase Thursday, which ended with the suspect spinning out at a busy intersection on the city's east side.

CSPD says they attempted to use a grappler device, which latches multiple straps around a rear wheel of a vehicle upon bumping into or ramming the bumper. The suspect, Jeremy Mondragon, had been leading police on a chase in a red-colored sedan. The grappler device sent Mondragon spinning out at the intersection of North Academy Boulevard and Bijou, slamming into an innocent driver in the process.

One witness, Nicole Chaney, caught the crash right on her dash camera while driving along North Academy Boulevard.

"It was really scary," she said, watching the unmarked SUV of the CSPD officer hit Mondragon after crossing over a lane, into the intersection.

The driver who was hit by Mondragon's vehicle had their airbags fully deploy, which can be seen in the video.

"They hit [the suspects] car. The two cops came and blocked them in, and we, as we were driving by, we saw the cops come out and have their guns drawn," explained Chaney, as police honed in on Mondragon after the dust settled.

Chaney says it all happened so fast, but she had sensed something was wrong as they were pulling up to the intersection.

"So just behind us, we saw this red car that was kind of swerving in and out of the lane so crazy," she stated.

Mondragon had been wanted out of Chaffee County for possession of contraband since late January, where he skipped his court date, leading to a warrant for his arrest after a failure to appear.

His criminal record shows 15 prior criminal cases dating back to 2012. They mostly consist of theft and drugs. Last March, he was arrested by El Paso County Sheriffs for Possession of Fentanyl, a Class 4 Felony.

"If you had all those charges. It seems like it was going to happen sooner or later too."

It's unclear why Mondragon was leading police on a chase yesterday, but it appears police thought he was enough of a threat, to get taken down then and there, although Chaney questioned the decision.

"It seemed pretty dangerous to me just because it was all in rush hour traffic. I'm glad no more people got involved," said Chaney.  

CSPD says this pursuit, just like any other, is being reviewed by the involved officers’ chain of command to evaluate if the chase was justified, or if any action should be taken.