High speed chase ends in Walsenburg

staff report
WALSENBURG — Shades of the Doughertys! Only, not that cool.
A high-speed chase that began north of Pueblo ended abruptly Tuesday morning when a hitch-hiker -turned-robbery-suspect Jorge Lopez, 21, of Thornton, crashed his stolen truck just off I-25 at mile marker 50 and fled into Walsenburg. The pickup was apparently stolen from the Love’s Truck Stop north of Pueblo.
Schools in Walsenburg were put on lock down for a short period of time and reverse 911 calls were sent out as local law enforcement and the State Patrol looked for and finally apprehended the suspect.
It appeared Lopez ran out of gas and put the car in the ditch as the state patrol and Walsenburg police were in pursuit.
Police put out a description of the man to Walsenburg citizens by phone asking for help if he was spotted.
Upon his arrest in the 800 block of Kansas, it appeared Lopez had changed some of his clothing in hopes of not being found right away.
There are confirmed reports that shots were fired by police during the pursuit as Lopez attempted to ram a state patrol vehicle before getting to the Walsenburg area. Lopez was arrested and taken to the hospital for treatment of injuries from the crash.