Northglenn man charged after leading officers on chase in RMNP

DENVER (KDVR) — A Northglenn man is facing a federal assault charge after driving recklessly through Rocky Mountain National Park on Sunday .

Wade Thyfault, 24, is charged with one count of assault resulting in bodily injury for his part in a high-speed chase and crash that occurred inside the national park.

The incident began at about 4 p.m. on Sept. 8 at the Grand Lake entrance to the park. The National Park Service was notified of a white Dodge Ram truck that drove through the entrance without stopping and threw a necklace out the window that struck the entrance booth.

According to the federal complaint, a ranger found the truck driving east on U.S. 34 near the Medicine Bow area. The ranger saw the truck attempt to pass another vehicle by crossing the double yellow lines, before “aggressively swerving back into the original lane of travel.” Shortly after, the ranger described the vehicle speeding past several cars in a no-passing zone, which caused her to activate her lights and sirens and follow the truck.

Thyfault’s vehicle did not yield to the ranger’s signals and continued east.

Another ranger caught up with Thyfault at the junction of U.S. 36 and U.S. 34 and followed the pickup truck east on U.S. 36 toward the town of Estes Park.

At the junction of Bear Lake Road and U.S. 36, an Estes Park police officer placed stop sticks to deflate Thyfault’s vehicle tires, but it appeared to have only worked on one tire. According to the federal complaint, Thyfault kept driving for another 2 miles before crashing into a silver Toyota Corolla at the intersection of Mill’s Drive and U.S. 36.

According to the complaint, Thyfault appears to have lost control of his vehicle due to speed and the damaged tire, crossed the center line and hit the left front portion of the sedan.

Thyfault fled the area on foot, wearing only a pair of blue jeans — no shirt or shoes. Residents reported seeing him attempting to open a car door in a Larimer County neighborhood but he was unsuccessful. Officers were unable to locate Thyfault on Sunday night.

But on Monday morning, a property owner in the 1500 block of High Drive in Estes Park reported damage at his property. Estes Park police arrived on scene and located Thyfault in the home, leading to his arrest.

According to the complaint, Thyfault has a history of eluding police. On Aug. 25, Thyfault fled from Hudson police in Weld County, where officers had staged on a county road to look for a blue pickup truck suspected in a homicide that night.

Thyfault was alleged to have been driving fast, and officers could not determine his pickup truck’s color, so they attempted to pull him over. Instead, Thyfault allegedly “blacked out” the truck’s lights and continued driving.

Eventually, Lochbuie police assisted in the chase by deploying stop sticks and the white Ram pickup was disabled. Thyfault was found hiding in a nearby ditch.

Thyfault appeared before a judge on Thursday in Denver. The case is under investigation by the National Park Service.

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