Helena chase ends in rollover crash after 120 mph pursuit

A high-speed chase that cut through Helena ended at Masonic Home Road and Glass Drive when a Montana Highway Patrol sergeant used a PIT maneuver and sent a silver SUV into a rollover crash. The wreck brought the pursuit off I-15 northbound and into one of Helena’s busy east-side roadways, putting drivers and nearby neighborhoods at risk as speeds climbed as high as 120 mph.

The pursuit began in Silver Bow County after Butte-Silver Bow law enforcement alerted Montana Highway Patrol to a vehicle that fled just after 1:30 p.m. on May 12. Troopers later spotted the suspect vehicle near Helena and moved in on I-15 northbound. Montana Highway Patrol said the chase continued through the Cedar Street exit before it reached the intersection of Masonic Home Road and Glass Drive, where the sergeant ended it with the PIT maneuver.

Helena Police Department officers and Lewis and Clark County Sheriff’s Office deputies assisted along the way. By the time the vehicle rolled, three people were inside. Montana Highway Patrol reported that the driver suffered minor injuries and the two passengers had non-life-threatening injuries. All three were taken into custody and transported to St. Peter’s Health.

Later court documents identified the driver as Brandon Lee Verge. Investigators said the vehicle was a silver Mercedes-Benz SUV with Gallatin County plates. Verge was charged with fleeing or eluding a peace officer and two felony counts of criminal endangerment, reflecting the danger created by the pursuit on the interstate and inside Helena’s street network.

Investigators also said Verge confessed to driving the stolen SUV and to committing two armed robberies in Bozeman and Belgrade. One passenger reportedly wore a GPS monitor bracelet issued by Probation and Parole, a detail officers used to track the group’s location during the chase. Verge was scheduled to be arraigned June 2 in state district court as the case moved into its next phase, with the city’s crash scene and the broader route through Lewis and Clark County now part of the record.