Charges filed in Tuesday chase, crash in Cedar Rapids

CEDAR RAPIDS - The first charges have been filed against the Cedar Rapids man who led Linn County Sheriff's deputies on a high-speed chase Tuesday that resulted in a multivehicle crash.

James F. Surrett, 46, faces charges of attempting to elude and driving while barred for Tuesday's pursuit. On Wednesday, Sheriff Brian Gardner said more charges will be filed in the coming days.

'We're still adding charges to this person as the day goes on,” Gardner said, noting that Surrett will likely face drug charges in the case.

Surrett has a lengthy criminal history, according to online court records. His litany of prior offenses include controlled substance violations, possession of controlled substance precursors, assault on peace officers and violation of parole. Additionally, Surrett has had 18 withdrawals - suspensions, revocations or barments - on his license since 1988, according to the sheriff's office.

'It's probably not a record-setter, but it's probably one of the more lengthy records we've seen,” Gardner said of Surrett's driving record.

Because of that lengthy record, Surrett is currently barred from driving. While such barments usually run at least six years, because of his various offenses and non-payment of fines, Surrett will 'probably never have a driver's license,” Gardner said.

'Basically, it's done indefinitely,” he said.

According to the sheriff's office, deputies tried to stop Surrett at 3:14 p.m. Tuesday on Highway 13 south of Mount Vernon Road. Authorities said Surrett refused to pull over and a pursuit ensued southbound on Highway 13 to Highway 30 and then westbound on Highway 30. The chase reached speeds of 100 mph, according to the sheriff's office.

Surrett exited on C Street SW and continued northbound toward Cedar Rapids. At this point, deputies lost sight of Surrett due to his high rate of speed and his reckless driving.

'We continued to follow him from a safe distance,” Gardner said. 'We assumed from the way he was driving something was going to happen, something tragic was going to happen.”

While deputies followed from 'quite some distance” behind Surrett, they were able to keep tabs on him as he blew by other deputies and Cedar Rapids police trying to enter the pursuit.

'We weren't actively chasing him at this point in time,” Gardner said. 'We were just trying to follow along at a safe distance.”

The chase ended when Surrett turned northbound on First Street SW near Riverside Park. At the intersection of First Avenue and First Street, Surrett collided 'nearly head-on” with a truck and a Cedar Rapids Community School District bus. Four students and two staff members were on the bus at the time of the crash, but were uninjured. The driver of the truck and her young child were taken to Mercy Medical Center to be checked for what are believed to be non-life threatening injuries.

Surrett was transferred to St. Luke's Hospital for treatment.

Gardner said his staff will review deputies reports and videos from the incident and review the chase. They will then check for violations of department policies, what went right during the chase and where there might be room for improvement. However, Gardner said based on what he heard when he listened to the chase unfold, standard procedures were followed.

'From what I could tell, based on the radio traffic, it did appear policy was being adhered to,” Gardner said.