High-speed chase, suicide lead to I-15 closure

A woman leading police on a high-speed pursuit and then committing suicide led to a section of Interstate 15 being closed Tuesday night.

Around 7:30 p.m., Pocatello police asked the Bingham County Sheriff’s Office to locate Naomi Brandt, who was suicidal and had a handgun, at an I-15 northbound rest area. When deputies arrived, they learned Idaho State Police had found Brandt’s pickup, but she took off. Officers from both agencies were in pursuit of Brandt, who reached speeds of 100 mph.

Deputies set spikes on the road, and after her pickup was spiked, Brandt pulled over at milepost 110. The Bingham County Sheriff’s Office said Brandt would not do anything officers asked her to do.

As Brandt was armed, police asked the Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office to bring its Bearcat, an armored police vehicle, to protect officers. Once the Bearcat arrived, police looked inside the pickup and saw Brandt was not moving.

The Bingham County Sheriff’s Office said when police pulled Brandt out of the vehicle, they found she had died after shooting herself in the chest with a 40 caliber handgun.

Next of kin has been notified, the Bingham sheriff said Wednesday.

During the incident, I-15 traffic in both directions was blocked between Exit 108 (Shelley) and Exit 113 (Dad’s Travel Center), and some drivers were stuck on the interstate for as long as an hour and a half.