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Crazy video shows pursuit involving impaired driver in Monroe County

Posted at 8:13 AM, Jul 09, 2019
and last updated 2019-07-09 08:48:43-04

MONROE COUNTY — Crazy dash cam video released by the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office shows deputies pursuing an impaired driver on the morning of July 4 as he swerved around other vehicles and over the roadway at speeds in excess of 90 miles per hour.

Monroe County Sheriff's Lieutenant Allen Mullis was headed home after working third shift around 6:45 a.m. when he saw a blue and silver pickup truck driving erratically on I-69 south, according to a release issued from the sheriff's office on Tuesday. The driver first entered I-69 at a high rate of speed near Tapp Road, crossed over all the southbound lanes and almost sideswiped the concrete divide. The driver then crossed all the lanes again and almost struck the guardrail on the opposite side the road.

Lt. Mullis attempted a traffic stop near Monroe Hospital, according to the sheriff’s office. The suspect vehicle continued driving south on I-69 toward Greene County at speeds between 80 and 100 miles per hour, narrowly missing multiple vehicles along the way. When the pursuit crossed into Greene County, the driver crossed into the north bound lanes on I-69 and drove in the wrong direction for approximately a mile.

When the pursuit crossed back over into Monroe County, another deputy set up stop sticks near Abell Nursery while Bloomington Police Department officers shut down traffic on SR 45 near Airport Road. The suspect ran over the spike strips, deflating his driver side tires and reducing the speed of the pursuit down to between 50 and 60 miles per hour.

As the driver continued into an area with busier intersections, Lt. Mullis began trying to force the vehicle off the roadway, the sheriff’s office said. And he was eventually able to tap the vehicle’s rear bumper with his cruiser and cause it to spin to a stop near the intersection in front of the Bloomington Walmart.

The suspect was taken to IU Bloomington Hospital for medical clearance before he was booked into jail on preliminary charges of operating while under the influence, resisting with a vehicle, possession of a controlled substance and reckless driving.

No injuries were reported. The incident remains under investigation by the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office and formal charges

You can watch the full cruiser video from the Monroe County Sheriff's Office below.