The pursuit of a stolen vehicle Monday crossed county lines and ended in a crash involving two other vehicles, sending two to the hospital with possible serious injuries, police report.
The incident that led to crash began when state police received a call at 4:51 p.m. from a motorist advising the driver of a blue Honda Accord was speeding south on Interstate 65 and weaving from lane to lane in southern Jackson County, according to a report from Sgt. Cary Huls, public information officer for the Indiana State Police Sellersburg Post.
A check of the vehicle’s license plate revealed the car was stolen out of Illinois, Huls said.
A Crothersville Police Department officer later located and attempted to stop the car near the 40-mile-marker just south of Uniontown, Huls reported.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]
When the vehicle failed to stop, the officer began the pursuit. State troopers and Jackson County Sheriff’s Department officers soon joined to assist as the pursued vehicle reached speeds near 140 mph, police reported.
The pursuit continued southbound into Scott County, and attempts to use a tire deflating device were unsuccessful. The car eventually collided with a semitractor-trailer and a 2019 Infiniti and then came to rest on the west side of the interstate near the 31-mile-marker between Austin and Scottsburg.
Two occupants fled the scene on foot but were soon apprehended. The third occupant of the vehicle required extrication and was rushed to University of Louisville Hospital with serious injuries. All three occupants of the car were juveniles from Illinois. The two juveniles who fled were treated for minor injuries and taken to the Clark County Clementine B. Barthold Juvenile Detention Center in Jeffersonville.
The driver of the Infiniti, Omer Naim of Tennessee, also was taken to University of Louisville Hospital but was later released. The driver of the semitrailer refused treatment at the scene.
The interstate remained closed until approximately 10 p.m. while state police reconstructionists investigated the collision and workers cleaned the scene of spilled diesel fuel.