Elderly man leads police on a high-speed chase

COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho — A 75-year-old man is being held on felony charges after municipal police say he led them on a high-speed chase in which four patrol cars and five other vehicles were damaged.

Police said it was unclear why Ira Loudenback failed to cooperate at a traffic stop and took off northbound on U.S. Highway 95.

“He didn’t say anything to us — other than obscenities,” Sgt. Christie Wood told the Coeur d’Alene Press.

Police said they were forced to use a stun gun to subdue Loudenback, who was taken to the Kootenai Medical Center for observation and jailed for investigation of offenses that include felony eluding, aggravated battery and aggravated assault.

“He just about killed a bunch of people,” Wood said. “They had moved way out of the way and he went after them anyway.”

One police officer was treated for a wrist injury and released. Four police vehicles were damaged during the chase Thursday morning.

The Spokesman-Review of Spokane said police reported that Loudenback was drunk, but Wood said alcohol did not appear to be a factor.

Police began chasing Loudenback when he refused to stop after being clocked at 59 mph in a 35-mph zone in a 1987 Oldsmobile.

He drove through a red light, swerved at other cars and swung into a parking lot, then drove around in circles before heading north in the southbound lanes of U.S. 95.

“Vehicles on the roadway pulled over to avoid being struck as the suspect intentionally aimed at them with his vehicle,” Wood wrote in a news release.

Five vehicles were struck and damaged before Loudenback drove into a field behind a church.

As more officers arrived, Wood wrote, he “continued driving in wide circles, flipping off officers as he would try to ram their vehicles.”

Police said they finally hemmed in his car but had to use a stun gun to subdue him. Four patrol cars were damaged, including two that were immobilized.

“Our concern was for the safety of the public in the vicinity,” Police Chief Wayne Longo said in a statement. “I am grateful that no one was hurt, including the suspect.”