SCOTT COUNTY, Ind. – A suspect approached speeds of 140 mph as he led authorities on a chase in a stolen police vehicle early Thursday morning in southern Indiana.
According to Indiana State Police, the incident started around 1:30 a.m., when officers with the Scottsburg Police Department responded to a hotel near exit 29 for an unrelated call.
While police investigated, a man climbed into one of the responding Scottsburg police cars and took off. Officers located him on southbound I-65 a few miles south of the city. When they tried to initiate a traffic stop, the man sped up, reaching speeds in excess of 100 mph.
Soon, the pursuit expanded to include personnel from the Scott County and Clark County sheriff’s departments as well as Indiana State Police. Officers deployed stop sticks near mile markers 12 and 9 in Clark County.
Even though the stolen police cruiser hit the stop sticks, the driver kept going, heading southbound at speeds, according to police, that approached 140 mph.
Before a state trooper could use the PIT maneuver (precision immobilization technique), the driver lost control. The car then veered into a concrete median and skidded along a barrier wall until it finally came to a stop near mile marker 3.
While that brought the pursuit to an end, the driver wasn’t finished just yet. The man, later identified as 44-year-old Roger W. Stamper of Austin, Indiana, left through the passenger door. Officers subdued him with a Taser after he refused to follow commands, police said.
He was taken to the Scott County Jail after being medically cleared.
Preliminary charges against him include theft, resisting law enforcement with a vehicle, unauthorized entry of a motor vehicle, resisting law enforcement, aggressive driving/unsafe operation, reckless driving and driving while suspended.
Stamper also received numerous citations for traffic violations, police said.
Comments are closed.