A pair of Illinois residents have been arrested following a high-speed chase across Fond du Lac and Winnebago counties.
Shortly after 1 p.m. Friday, the Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office received an alert regarding a stolen car from Illinois driving northbound on I-41 from County Road Y. Authorities discovered that this vehicle had been involved in two different pursuits in Illinois during the last week, but had avoided cops both times.
A deputy discovered the truck on I-41 near Winnebago Street in the town of Friendship. The deputy continued to pursue the vehicle northbound, waiting for more deputies to arrive before attempting a high-risk traffic stop. Although the vehicle first pulled over and stopped, it fled northbound on I-41 after officers exited their squad cars and began issuing verbal directions to the occupants.
The pursuit continued into Winnebago County as the car ignored deputies’ emergency lights and sirens and increased its speed in an attempt to avoid arrest. According to the sheriff’s office, the car continued to demonstrate reckless behavior by passing other vehicles on the freeway, including those on the shoulder, and weaving between them at high speeds.
When the vehicle left I-41, it failed to stop at three red lights. The pursuit proceeded southbound on the two-lane State Highway 26, with the vehicle speeding and passing other vehicles. At one point, the vehicle exited the road, went into a private residence’s yard, turned around, and crossed a ditch before rejoining the highway northbound on STH 26.
The chase continued until the vehicle entered a field at County Road Z and Clay Road in Winnebago County. As a sheriff’s sergeant approached to undertake a pursuit intervention technique (PIT maneuver), the suspect vehicle reversed and crashed into the front of the squad car. The vehicle then attempted to flee the field by driving through a ditch and back onto Clay Road, but another squad car stopped the pursuit by purposely striking the vehicle, pushing it off the road and back into the ditch. The automobile turned over in the ditch and came to rest upright. It later caught fire, causing firemen to respond to quell the incident.
Two individuals were detained and brought to the Fond du Lac County Jail. Both were assessed by medical experts on the site.
The driver, a 23-year-old guy from Des Plaines, Illinois, is charged with fleeing/eluding an officer, two counts of first-degree reckless endangerment, resisting/obstructing an officer, and providing prohibited materials by an inmate (ecstasy pills). His criminal record in Illinois “was flagged as armed and dangerous with previous weapons offenses, dangerous drug offenses, and criminal damage to property.”
The passenger, a 23-year-old woman from Franklin Park, Illinois, is charged with fleeing/eluding (party to a crime), first-degree recklessly endangering safety (party to a crime), possession of THC, possession of drug paraphernalia, and resisting/obstructing a police officer.
Leave a Comment