CUSTER, S.D. – The Custer County Sheriff’s Office says a vehicle was seen violating traffic laws at Mt. Rushmore National Monument on Wednesday.

When Park Rangers attempted to pull over the driver, the vehicle fled the scene.

The pursuit continued westbound on SD-244 before making a southward turn onto US-16/385. Around 10:30 a.m., we received alerts regarding the incident and a description of the vehicle, which was described as an Infiniti SUV with Georgia license plates.

Throughout the chase, Rangers tried to box in the vehicle, but the driver evaded their attempts. Upon entering Custer County, a deputy attempted to deploy spike strips, but the driver managed to steer clear of them. As the vehicle approached a second deputy who was positioned with spike strips, it turned into Buckhorn Equipment. Observing the situation, employees quickly positioned a dump truck and a loader to block any potential escape routes. A felony stop was initiated; however, the driver was less than cooperative but was eventually taken into custody.

A female passenger and an infant in the back seat were unharmed and released at the scene.