Colorado police video shows handcuffed suspect steal cruiser before fatal crash
Police placed Anthony Alphonso Sanchez III in the back of squad car after a car chase on June 20. Then he wriggled into the front seat and stole it – leading officers and deputies on a deadly high-speed chase.
A Colorado man taken into custody following a shots-fired call and police chase is seen on video scooting into the front seat of a state police car and taking off down Highway 50 once again in Otero County before speeding into a fatal finale.
The suspect, Anthony Alphonso Sanchez III, later died after the car spun out on a stop strip and slammed into a tractor-trailer on the side of the road.
Around 11 a.m. on June 20, Otero County deputies responded to a report of shots fired and called for help from state troopers to track down the fleeing suspect, who was driving erratically and had already caused accidents on the highway, according to authorities.
WATCH: Colorado police video shows handcuffed suspect steal cruiser before fatal crash
Police knocked his car off the road and took him into custody. In bodycam video, deputies recover a loaded handgun from the passenger seat and discuss having witnessed the suspect "ram" another car in the course of "multiple accidents."
Colorado suspect Anthony Alphonso Sanchez III is seen preparing to steal a state trooper's car on June 20 after his capture in a prior police chase. The suspect wound up crashing during a second high-speed chase, suffering fatal injuries. (Colorado State Patrol)
While in cuffs, Sanchez tells officers, "My girlfriend f---ing shot at me, and I don't know what the f--- is going on."
"You're under arrest," an officer replies.
But as officers and deputies secured the scene, Sanchez could be seen on video from the back of the trooper's car scooting his handcuffed wrists under his legs, then squirming into the front of a Colorado State Patrol cruiser.
Colorado police deployed Stop Sticks across Highway 50 multiple times, finally snagging the suspect's car before he spun out of control and crashed. (Colorado State Patrol)
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Dashcam video from the same car shows it accelerating down the road. The radio is on, and troopers can be heard calling for backup and giving updates on the stolen vehicle's location as they begin a pursuit.
Sanchez dodges the first set of Stop Sticks deployed across the road.
"You missed him, continuing eastbound," someone calls out over the radio. Sanchez avoids another one and continues to speed down the highway.
Sanchez spun out of control after driving over Stop Sticks and hit a tractor-trailer on the shoulder. (Colorado State Patrol)
But a few minutes later, other officers blocked off the road ahead and set up a stop strip.
Sanchez zoomed over the strip, which disabled the car. Then he swerved out of control and smashed into a big-rig trailer, spinning off onto the shoulder.
The video shows officers struggling to free the suspect from the decimated car as smoke blows out of the engine bay.
First responders put out a fire in the hood of the crashed car as police and deputies try to free the suspect from the driver's seat. He later died from injuries sustained in the crash. (Colorado State Patrol)
"He's alive," one officer says as police pry away twisted metal and other debris. Another calls for his trauma bag.
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Sanchez was conscious but had a severe head injury.
He later died from his critical injuries at the hospital, according to authorities.
The truck driver was not hurt.
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