Weston man arrested after I-25 pursuit injures state trooper

A traffic stop on Interstate 25 ended with a Colorado State Patrol trooper on the ground, a shotgun seen inside a van and a Weston man jailed on suspicion of DUI, felony eluding and assault on a peace officer.

The incident began around 1 p.m. Saturday, May 2, 2026, after Colorado State Patrol received a call through its community reporting line about a gray Ford Transit Connect van near Walsenburg. The caller reported the driver was speeding northbound on I-25 and actively drinking a beer.

Troopers later found the van south of Pueblo near milepost 91 and exit 91, near St. Charles Reservoir. Trooper Dunbar activated his emergency lights and stopped the vehicle on an off-ramp. During that stop, Dunbar reportedly saw a shotgun in the van. When the driver accelerated away, the vehicle allegedly knocked Dunbar to the ground before fleeing north on the interstate.

The van was later stopped near milepost 98 after Sgt. Glanton used a Tactical Vehicle Intervention maneuver to ram the vehicle and bring it to a stop. The driver was booked into the Pueblo County Jail on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol and or drugs, felony eluding and assault on a peace officer, among other charges. Dunbar was taken to an area hospital with suspected minor injuries and later released.

For Las Animas County, the case carries a local warning as much as a criminal one. Weston is a tiny unincorporated community in the county, with a population of 53 in the 2020 Census, and I-25 is the main route tying the county to Pueblo, the Front Range and New Mexico. A pursuit that starts near Walsenburg can quickly become a threat to troopers, nearby drivers and anyone sharing the roadway.

Colorado State Patrol, which maintains five field districts and a network of troop offices statewide, treats highway enforcement as a core public-safety mission. This case shows why: a routine stop tied to suspected impairment turned into a fast-moving confrontation with injuries, a jail booking and a reminder that high-speed flight on I-25 can put ordinary motorists at risk in seconds.