A one hour long high speed police chase in the Phoenix area ended when the suspect’s vehicle collided head on with another car.
The 60-mile pursuit began on State Route 85 when a state trooper attempted to stop a red SUV being driven by Mitchell Timothy Taebel, 31, for a moving-traffic violation, at around 10am.
During the pursuit, state troopers attempted to disable the vehicle with spike strips but it veered around them and kept going, eventually reaching I-10 and heading east into Phoenix, azcentral.com reported.
The red SUV drove down the center of a road in the city of Tempe, greater Phoenix, hitting a black SUV coming in the opposite direction
Smoke billowing out of both vehicles after the collision. The black SUV’s driver was hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries
The red SUV came to rest by the side of the road, completely enveloped in smoke
An Arizona Department for Public Safety helicopter then took over tracking Taebel’s SUV, which reached speeds of 60 to 65 mph.
As the SUV approached lights, two DPS vehicles tried to box in the vehicle but the suspect veered to the right and rammed a patrol car, before continuing at a high speed during Wednesday’s chase.
The car careered down the central strip of the Apache Boulevard, in the city of Tempe, going through traffic lights at an intersection and then sideswiping a white SUV before hitting a black SUV head on.
The 47-year-old female driver of the black SUV was taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
The driver, Mitchell Timothy Taebel, can be seen in the video exiting his smoldering vehicle
Taebel then runs up the street and begins talking to by-standers gathered by the side of the road
He then returned to his car as law enforcement officers arrive on the scene and surround the vehicle
When officers realize who he is, Taebel is quickly subdued by law enforcement officers
Taebel, pictured, has a California driving licence and a criminal history, the Arizona DPS said
With smoke billowing from it, the red SUV continued for a short distance before coming to a stop at the side of the road, facing in the opposite direction.
In the video, Taebel can then be seen exiting the car and running up and down the road and talking to by-standers before law enforcement vehicles arrive.
He is surrounded by several officers who subdue him and then take him into custody.
DPS spokesman Kameron Lee said Taebel had a California driver’s license and a criminal history with felonies and misdemeanors in several other states, including New York and Florida.
According to reports, law enforcement officials were in contact with the suspect by phone during the chase.
He reportedly told authorities he considered himself a ‘sovereign citizen,’ and not bound by government laws.