FOND DU LAC COUNTY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — A Kenosha County man was arrested following a 19-mile police chase Wednesday morning in Fond du Lac County.
The sheriff’s office says just after 10 a.m., a deputy tried to pull over a driver who was driving erratically on Highway 45 near Highway W in the town of Eden. The deputy said the vehicle was being driven slowly, getting in the way of other vehicles, not being able to stay in control within its lane and having an expired registration.
The man ignored the emergency lights and continued to drive his Jeep erratically to the south. Eventually, the SUV sped up and the deputy turned on the squad car’s siren. The Jeep turned west onto Highway F, speeding up to 60 mph, then north on W, reaching 80 mph. Before he got to Highway 45, the driver turned onto a gravel road on private property, which dead-ended in a farm field. The vehicle went into the field, then back onto the gravel road to W. The Jeep went south on W, going as fast as 60 mph.
With the chase nearing Campbellsport and civilian traffic and a construction zone nearby, the deputy decided to stop the chase. Instead, the deputy went in the SUV’s last known direction and caught sight of the vehicle again, headed north on Highway V from E. Sheboygan Street. With the vehicle leaving Campbellsport and other patrol vehicles in the area, the deputy again turned on the lights and siren, which the driver once again ignored.
The SUV went north on Highway V, going as fast as 75 mph. Two other deputies set up tire deflation devices on V just outside the village of Eden. As the Jeep got close to where they were, the driver turned to go east on Shady Lane, driving off the road onto private property to get around the deputies. He went through several yards in Eden and wound up back on V, headed north.
When the SUV driver then tried to go north on Highway K, he lost control and went into the ditch. A deputy tried to ram the vehicle to disable it, but despite “significant” damage to both vehicles, the Jeep once again took off. The SUV went north on Highway K before the driver lost control and finally crashed just before reaching Highway 45.
The driver, a 21-year-old man, was taken to the hospital with minor injuries. Sheriff’s officials are recommending charges of knowingly fleeing an officer, first-degree recklessly endangering safety and operating under the influence.
The driver’s name was not released. No one else was in his vehicle.
