Four arrested after 90 mph chase

Occupants reaction to passing a patrol car tipped officers and started a pursuit through Minden and Gardnerville on Monday night.

According to the Douglas County Sheriff's Office, a deputy first spotted the vehicle southbound on Highway 395 near the intersection with Highway 88 in Minden.

The 2002 BMW sedan with four people inside passed the deputy doing 50 in the 45 mph zone. The two people in the back seat became excited, looking back at the patrol car as they passed.

The deputy pulled in behind the sedan and called in the license plate, which is when he was told it had been reported stolen in Reno.

He tried to get the sedan to stop by activating his lights and siren, but the driver of the car sped up and moved into the center lane of the highway at Buckeye Road.

The driver then accelerated to the point where he lost control of the car and drifted into the oncoming lane and then hard over into the southbound lanes.

During the pursuit the BMW hit speeds of more than 80 mph and weaved in and out of the northbound and southbound travel lanes on the highway, despite the lack of traffic.

At the S-curve in Gardnerville, the driver cut off a semi in the fast lane and then went back into oncoming traffic.

At Riverview, the car moved into the slow lane because there was another vehicle stopped at the red light. The light turned green just before the BMW reached the intersection and the driver tried to go around the other car.

It's passenger side tires hit the curb lofting the BMW into the air on one side, and then it landed and the front tire began to shred.

The tire fell off completely at Palomino Drive and sparks were coming off the rim as the driver tried to maintain control at 90 mph.

The pursuit continued until the California stateline, where deputies assisted the California Highway Patrol officer in taking all four occupants of the BMW into custody.

The driver of the car was identified as Michael Edwards. Passengers were identified as Kayla Laffey-Hawkins, Robert Thompson and Robert Ward.