November 25, 2021 – Fond du Lac Co., WI – On Wednesday, November 24, 2021, at approximately 10:01am, a deputy with the Fond du Lac Sheriff’s Office attempted to perform a traffic stop on a vehicle for driving behavior, which consisted of travelling under the speed limit, impeding the travel of other vehicles and not being able to maintain control within its lane of travel, as well as an expired registration on USH 45 near CTH W in the Town of Eden.
The deputy activated the emergency lights on the patrol squad signaling to the operator of the vehicle to pull over.
The operator of the vehicle, a four door Jeep SUV, did not pull over and continued southbound at a slow speed for a distance while driving erratically within its lane of travel. The vehicle then increased in speed, at which time the deputy activated the patrol squad siren in addition to the already activated patrol squad lights.
The vehicle continued to flee southbound on USH 45 before turning westbound on CTH F. The vehicle continued westbound on CTH F with speeds reaching 60 mph.
The vehicle then turned north on CTH W, travelling back towards USH 45 with speeds reaching 80 mph. Before reaching USH 45, the vehicle turned westbound onto a gravel lane on private property continuing to flee until coming to a dead end in an agricultural field.
The vehicle travelled into this field and then back onto the gravel lane, back eastbound to CTH W. The vehicle then turned southbound on CTH W travelling towards the Village of Campbellsport with speeds reaching 60 mph.
The pursuit was terminated before it reached the Village of Campbellsport at this time based on time of day, civilian traffic, and a known construction zone project within the village.
Upon terminating the pursuit and losing sight of the vehicle, the deputy travelled the last known direction and observed the vehicle travelling northbound on CTH V from East Sheboygan Street, leaving the Village of Campbellsport.
At this time, knowing there were other patrol units in the area and the fleeing vehicle was no longer in the village, the deputy again activated the patrol squad lights and siren attempting to stop the vehicle. The vehicle again failed to stop continuing northbound on CTH V varying speeds from 45 mph to 75 mph.
Another deputy was positioned on CTH V north of the approaching pursuit with tire deflation devices set up. The fleeing vehicle was able to avoid the tire deflation devices and continued northbound on CTH V towards the Village of Eden.
Two other deputies were positioned on CTH V just outside of the Village of Eden with two sets of tire deflation devices set up. As the fleeing approached their position, it turned eastbound onto Shady Lane and continued to the end of Shady Lane, again driving off the roadway onto private property while evading the pursuing deputies and those deputies who were positioning themselves to block the vehicle from fleeing further.
The vehicle travelled through several yards in the Village of Eden before getting back onto CTH V. The vehicle continued to flee northbound on CTH V out of the Village of Eden.
The vehicle attempted to make a turn to travel northbound on CTH K, at which time the operator lost control of the vehicle and travelled into the ditch. A deputy then attempted to use their patrol squad to ram and disable the fleeing vehicle to end the pursuit.
The deputy was able to strike the vehicle causing significant damage to both the patrol squad and fleeing vehicle. This however did not disable the fleeing vehicle and it was able to continue out of the ditch and again northbound on CTH K. The operator lost control of the vehicle and crashed on CTH K just before USH 45.
The operator and lone occupant, a 21-year-old Kenosha County man, was transported from the crash scene by ambulance to a local hospital for treatment of minor injuries. Upon medical clearance he will be transported to the Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office Jail on charges of Knowingly Fleeing an Officer, First-Degree Recklessly Endangering Safety and Operating a Motor Vehicle While Under the Influence. The pursuit travelled approximately 19 miles.
The Fond du Lac Sheriff’s Office was assisted at the crash scene by Wisconsin State Patrol, Eden Fire Department and City of Fond du Lac Paramedics.
