Suspects arrested after leading Fond du Lac County sheriff’s deputies and four other agencies on 41-mile pursuit
FOND DU LAC – Two men led Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s deputies and officers from four other agencies on a 41-mile pursuit Friday night before they drove into a ditch and were taken into custody.
The incident began at 10:19 p.m. July 5 when a Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s deputy tried to stop a vehicle for driving recklessly and driving through a stop sign at a high speed on County B near U.S. 41 in Fond du Lac County.
The suspect vehicle did not stop after the deputy activated his emergency lights and siren. Instead, the vehicle increased its speed.
The suspect vehicle then got onto U.S. 41 southbound from County B and continued driving recklessly, the sheriff’s office said in a news release.
Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office requested assistance from neighboring agencies to assist with the pursuit.
The suspect vehicle tried to exit U.S. 41 near Slinger, in Washington County, to avoid tire deflation devices. A Fond du Lac County deputy also initiated a Pursuit Intervention Technique to try to end the pursuit, the news release said.
The sheriff’s office said the PIT was successful, but the suspect vehicle was able to regain control and enter back onto the highway near Slinger and continue southbound.
Washington County deputies and Germantown police officers were then able to deploy tire deflation devices on the suspect vehicle.
The suspect vehicle then tried to exit the highway on County Line Road and lost control and drove down into a ditch, where the vehicle became disabled.
A passenger ran from the initial crash but was taken into custody immediately by a Wisconsin State Patrol trooper, the sheriff’s office said.
The driver was taken into custody cooperatively after a high-risk stop was conducted.
The suspect’s vehicle received substantial damage from when it ran off the roadway and crashed into the ditch. Some bystander vehicles also struck the tire deflation devices and received flat tires as a result from attempts to disable the suspect’s vehicle during the pursuit, the sheriff’s office said.
The passenger received injuries from running through thick vegetation at the conclusion of the pursuit. He was transported to a local hospital and released to deputies’ custody after being evaluated.
The driver is a 32-year-old male Fond du Lac man. He was arrested on suspicion of felony charges of fleeing/eluding, recklessly endangering safety and possession of THC second or greater. The driver is a convicted felon with a lengthy criminal history.
The sheriff’s office said the passenger was also a convicted felon and had a nationwide felony arrest warrant for his arrest through Probation and Parole. He was also arrested on suspicion of resisting/obstructing.
The sheriff’s office did not release the names of the suspects.
Assisting with the pursuit were Washington County Sheriff’s Office, Slinger Police Department, Germantown Police Department and Wisconsin State Patrol.
Contact Brandon Reid at 920-686-2984 or breid@gannett.com. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @breidHTRNews.
This article originally appeared on Fond du Lac Reporter: Fond du Lac County pursuit lasts 41 miles, ends with crash in ditch
