The vehicle was first spotted going 100 mph on I-90 near Spearfish and hit a top observed speed of 118 mph as the driver tried to avoid being pulled over. 45 miles later, outside Rapid City, police laid a spike strip in the road ahead of the car, which caused it to come to a stop in a ditch.
The driver, Tosten Walsh Lommen, 30, of Santa Cruz, California, ran from the scene but was quickly apprehended as he tried to climb over a fence. Police found a beer growler and prescription drugs in the car, and a breath test determined that Lommen had a blood alcohol level of .142, which is well above the state’s legal limit of .08. A search of the vehicle, which did not belong to Lommen, then turned up the body. Sources tell Newscenter1 that the vehicle belonged to Lommen's mother, with whom he lived in Palm Springs, California, according to public records.
Authorities have not revealed the cause of death or the identity of the deceased.
Lommen has not yet been charged with any crimes connecting him to the death as the investigation continues, but he is being held in Pennington County Jail with a bond set at $2.5 million.
