Man leads police on high-speed chase
Lukachukai suspect arrested after tire shreads from hitting spike strips

By Leslie Wood
Staff Writer

GALLUP — A 46-year-old Lukachukai, Ariz., man led multiple law enforcement agencies in a vehicle pursuit along Highway 491 at speeds that topped 100 mph Saturday morning.

Joe Bia, allegedly intoxicated at the time of his arrest, was booked into the McKinley County Adult Detention Center on charges of aggravated driving while intoxicated, resisting arrest and criminal damage to property following the pursuit that ended after Bia's truck blew a tire.

Deputy James Maiorano, assigned to the department's DWI unit, initially watched as Bia's 2005 GMC Sierra pick-up truck failed to negotiate a turn on Allison Road at about 2 a.m. All four of Bia's tires allegedly left the roadway and the vehicle came to a brief stop on the roadway's shoulder before he continued along Allison toward Wal-Mart.

According to a police report, Maiorano activated his unit's emergency lights and attempted to pull Bia's vehicle over, but Bia continued driving north along Kachina Road. Additional deputies began to pursue Bia as he drifted into both lanes of traffic and almost drove the vehicle into light poles.

At the intersection of Coal Basin Road and Highway 491, deputies planted spike strips in the roadway that flattened one of Bia's tires, but he continued at speeds ranging from 40 mph to 100 mph. Due to the damage caused by the spike strips, debris from Bia's tires cracked one of the deputy's windshields.

To avoid deputies, Bia turned into a residence along Route 9 and drove over boulders and through ditches in a field until his tire gave way. Bia reportedly refused to cooperate with officials who tried to remove him from the vehicle, according to the report.

Deputies shattered the driver's side window and pulled Bia from the truck. Because the pursuit ended on tribal land, Bia was arrested by tribal police.

Bia also allegedly refused to blow a complete breath sample into the jail's breathalyzer machine, so officials could not determine his blood-alcohol content. He also allegedly provided officials with three different Social Security numbers and was not responsive to their questions.