DILLON - Along the remote interstate near the Montana and Idaho border in southwest Montana, the Beaverhead County Sheriff's Office has been involved in another high-speed chase, the second in just one month.
"You never know what you’re coming up on in this job. With pursuits, especially, the concern is higher because you don’t know what their state of mind is," says Beaverhead County Sheriff's Office Deputy Dan Fields.
Deputy Fields responded to a call around dusk on September 1 from a remote area about 30 miles south of Dillon near Lima.
"We knew the male was armed. He had attempted to give somebody a gun out there, and they had basically run him off their property," says Deputy Fields.
Watch: Beaverhead County Sheriff's Office involved in second high-speed chase in a month:
He encountered the suspect along the old highway located next to the interstate.
Deputy Fields says the suspect's lights were not on when he spotted the blue car with Idaho plates, but as he headed for the interstate, he flipped the lights on high beam, and a high-speed chase ensued.
"We went through the median several times, switching between north and southbound. About mile marker 46 is when the Sheriff was able to deploy spike strips on the vehicle. He quickly lost both those tires. We were still exceeding 90 miles an hour with him on two rims and two tires," says Deputy Fields.
"The driver crossed the median again, this time heading southbound in the northbound lane, almost striking an oncoming car," says Fields.
Dashcam video from both Deputy Fields and Sheriff David Wendt show a terrifying moment of a passenger car narrowly missing the chase.
"You know, the threat to life was so severe at that moment we had to get that pursuit to an end and get that suspect into custody," says Deputy Fields.
Followed closely by Sheriff David Wendt, Deputy Fields bumped the suspect into the ditch, and the car became wedged against an 8-foot-tall sagebrush stand.
Suspect Jeremy Sepanski was arrested and charged with 6 counts of aggravated assault, a probation violation, 2 warrants, and other misdemeanors.
"We’re definitely shorthanded. I think every sheriff in the state’ll say that we need to put more cops on the street," says Sheriff Wendt.
Watch related coverage: Beaverhead County Sheriff injured after high-speed chase with impaired driver
There are nine sworn deputies, including the Sheriff and Undersheriff. The sheriff's department is adding another deputy in January.
"We are able to add this deputy because the Sheriff's office took over the coroner's office and this is to help with the case load," says Sheriff Wendt.
"We have a job to do and at the end of the day it’s to keep our community safe and we’re gonna do that," says Deputy Fields.
"We’ll chase you until your tires fall off," says Sheriff Wendt.
