High speed chase ends dramatically in Indianola - Iowa

A child who Des Moines police designated as a missing/endangered child in December was in a car that crashed into an empty Indianola patrol car during a high-speed pursuit early Friday, killing the driver, authorities said.

Police have identified the man who died after allegedly leading authorities on through several counties. Jeremiah Eldon Johnson, 33, of Des Moines, was wanted in Georgia on allegations of cruelty to a child and reckless driving. The nature of his relationship to child, as well as the child’s age and identity, were not immediately known.

According to Clive police, an officer saw the vehicle around 2:45 a.m. on the off-ramp from Interstate Highway 80 eastbound to Hickman Road. A license plate cover partially obscured the plate and as the officer tried to run the plate the car abruptly pulled into a truck stop.



The officer ran several possible combinations but wasn’t able to get the right license plate numbers and followed the car as it left the parking lot and pulled onto Hickman Road and back onto Interstate Highway 80 westbound, authorities said.

Around 2:50 a.m. the officer activated his lights and attempted to stop the 2003 Volkswagen Passat, police said. He reportedly could not see how many passengers were in the car.

Johnson allegedly accelerated away from the officer. The patrol car reached speeds of 110 miles per hour but still couldn’t keep up with the suspect’s vehicle. Other police agencies joined the pursuit.

Police set up stop sticks and a roadblock, authorities said, and at about 3:15 the suspect’s vehicle hit stop sticks in Indianola, police said. An officer parked at Iowa Highway 92 and 15th Street saw the vehicle coming and got out. Johnson’s car then reportedly slammed into the stopped patrol car.

Johnson was pronounced dead at the scene.

As officers were looking inside the vehicle, they could hear a young child crying on the floorboard of the vehicle, an Indianola police report says.

The child, who has not been identified, “sustained serious injuries,” according to a crash report from the Iowa State Patrol. The child was taken to Blank Children’s Hospital in Des Moines.

Johnson was wanted in Gwinnett County, Ga., on suspicion fleeing attempting to elude law enforcement, two counts of obstruction of justice, reckless driving, cruelty to a child, and other traffic violations.

Source : Desmionsregister
Facebook : http://www.facebook.com/patryn.worldlatestnews

Comments