Pursuit ends when suspect’s vehicle rammed by sheriff

A high-speed pursuit on Saturday on U.S. Highway 95 that reached speeds of 107 miles per hour ended with the arrest of the suspect after law enforcement rammed his vehicle and sent it into a ditch south of Weiser.
 The fleeing driver was identified as Duke Flemings, of Caldwell, who was arrested at gunpoint after his vehicle was disabled. He was booked into the Washington County Jail.
 Flemings was arraigned on Monday in Washington County Magistrate Court on one felony count of eluding a law enforcement officer. His bond was set at $10,000 by Magistrate David Eames.
 The incident started north of Weiser at about 1:08 p.m. on Saturday when Washington County Sheriff Matt Thomas was driving north in a patrol vehicle on U.S. 95 to the Washington County Fair in Cambridge.
 At U.S. 95 and Jackson Road, Thomas observed a vehicle passing in a no-passing zone. He turned on his emergency lights, turned aound and headed the other direction to pull over the driver.
 After he caught up to the suspect vehicle, the driver began passing vehicles in front of him. On-coming drivers were forced to pull off the highway to avoid hitting the suspect head-on. Speeds reached 107 mph, according to court documents.
 Thomas pursued the suspect through Weiser. The suspect at one point almost hit a cement truck at Park Street and U.S. 95 and drove up on the sidewalk and back onto U.S. 95. The suspect was driving in the center turn lane at speeds of 80 mph in a 35 mph zone.
 After the suspect drove through the parking lot of a business, Thomas said he knew he needed to end the pursuit before the suspect could get back up to speed. He rammed the vehicle with his bumper, which caused the suspect’s vehicle to spin out and into a pit along the southbound side of the highway near Couper Road.
 According to court documents, Flemings allegedly told officers when he was arrested that he took off because he didn’t have a driver’s license and didn’t want to go to jail.