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COLUMBIA FALLS, MT – On November 12th, at approximately 5:50 pm, The Columbia Falls Police Department was dispatched to the Super One Foods in Columbia Falls for a report of a vehicle that had driven through the front doors of the business and continued driving within the store.
The Columbia Falls Police Department and the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office responded to the call but the driver had fled the scene in his vehicle prior to law enforcement arrival. A short time later the suspect vehicle, a 1995 Chevrolet Lumina, was located across the highway where it had apparently crashed into a trailer that disabled the vehicle.
The driver fled the scene of the second crash on foot. Witnesses on scene described the driver as approximately 40-50 years of age with dark hair and a mustache or beard, and also described the clothing he was wearing.
Within minutes, our department was advised of a nude male running down the hallway of a nearby retirement home that was adjacent to the area of the abandoned Chevrolet Lumina. Officers located this nude male approximately one block west of the retirement home and detained him. Employees of the retirement home were able to identify the male through previous contacts and he had a known relationship with a resident there.
After a short initial investigation, it was determined that the nude male was in fact the driver of the Chevrolet Lumina that had driven through Super One. The male showed signs of drug impairment at the time of his arrest, and part of our investigation will be to determine whether he was under the influence while operating his motor vehicle. This suspect was transported to a local hospital for non-injury medical issues and will be transported to the Flathead County Detention Center when he is medically cleared. Because the male suspect has not been transported or booked at this time, our department cannot report his name or the pending charges he faces, but they will be numerous.
On Friday, at approximately 2:00 pm, the Columbia Falls Police Department had identified, arrested, and charged the suspect and driver who drove into and through, Super One Foods as 50-year-old Alan Roger Connor Jr. of Columbia Falls. As a result of Connor’s actions, he is being charged with the following crimes:
1. Attempted Negligent Vehicular Assault
2. Criminal Endangerment
3. Criminal Mischief (3) Felony
4. Aggravated DUI
5. Driving While License Suspended or Revoked
6. Operating a motor vehicle with no proof of insurance
7. Duty to give information or render aid at an accident scene
“Our investigation has led us to believe that Connor’s actions were not in any way related to a political, social, or terroristic-type attack and this was an isolated incident. If you were inside Super One Foods at the time of this incident, and haven’t already talked with our personnel, please call (406) 892-3234 so we can accurately determine the amount of people in the store at the time the vehicle broke through the doors,” the department said.
“I was walking up to one of the registers and heard a loud bang and walked to the doors to see what that was about and then I heard a scream and people running away from the doors and that’s when I saw the car bust through the second pair of sliding doors and didn’t stop there,” said the employee who shared the video. “I was confused at first thinking it was an accident but when he kept driving towards us I knew it wasn’t an accident and ran upstairs to a safe level.”