Man dies following crash with potato-hauler during police chase
A 30-year-old Elkhart, Indiana, man died Friday afternoon in a crash after a chase involving Branch County Sheriff deputies.
Deputy Joe Renshaw tried to stop a black Chevrolet Cruz on Main Street in Sherwood Village for speeding in a 25 mph zone around 4:15 p.m.
The driver, Anthony Grant, as confirmed by Indiana State Police, stopped, waited for the deputy to get out, and then drove off south on Athens Road, according to central dispatch radio records.
Deputy Shane Norton joined the chase, which did not exceed 63 mph as the driver drove rural roads in Matteson Township, police radio traffic indicated.
The driver went into St. Joseph County on Burr Oak Road. He avoided stop sticks near Burr Oak and drove back into Branch County on U.S. 12.
Bronson Police set up stop sticks at Prairie River. The driver turned south on rural roads until he crossed the Indiana state line near Greenfield Mills onto 1100 East in LaGrange County.
Two and a half miles south, the driver ran a stop sign. An eastbound semitrailer hauling a load of potatoes on SR 120 hit the small Chevrolet in the passenger’s door, crushing the car and scattering potatoes across the roadway, according to Branch deputies and Indiana State Police.
Grant was pronounced dead at the scene by first responders from LaGrange and Orland, Indiana.
Subscribe Support local news. Subscribe to the Daily Reporter.
Four Branch County Sheriff deputies and a Michigan State trooper were first at the crash site. The LaGrange County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the crash with Indiana State Police crash reconstruction investigators. A coroner’s investigation will also take place.
Grant’s speed never exceeded 73 mph during the 43-minute, 22-mile pursuit, according to Central Dispatch records.
Contact Don Reid: dReid@Gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Coldwater Daily Reporter: Man dies following crash with potato-hauler during police chase
