(SCOTT CO.) – The pursuit of a stolen vehicle crossed county lines and ended in a crash involving two other vehicles.
The crash sent two to the hospital with possible serious injuries.
At approximately 4:51 p.m. Monday, Indiana State Police (ISP) received a call from a motorist advising that a blue Honda Accord was speeding on I-65 southbound and was weaving between lanes.
A check of the vehicle’s license plate revealed that the car was stolen out of Illinois.
A Crothersville Police Department officer later located and attempted to stop the car near the 40 mile-marker of I-65 south. When the driver failed to stop, the officer began pursuing the vehicle.
Indiana state troopers and Jackson County deputies soon joined to assist as the vehicle reached speeds near 140 miles-per-hour.
The pursuit continued southbound on I-65 and into Scott County. Officers attempted to use stop sticks to stop the car but were unsuccessful. The car eventually collided with a semitractor-trailer and a 2019 Infiniti. It then came to a stop on the west side of the interstate near the 31 mile-marker.
Two occupants fled the scene on foot but were quickly apprehended.
The third occupant of the vehicle had to be freed from the wreckage and rushed to the University of Louisville Hospital with serious injuries. Officials say that all three occupants of the car were juveniles from Illinois.
The two juveniles who fled the scene were treated for minor injuries and transported to the Clark County Youth Detention Center.
The driver of the Infiniti, Omer Naim, of Tennessee, was also taken to U of L Hospital but was later released. The driver of the semitrailer refused treatment at the scene.
I-65 remained closed until approximately 10 p.m. while ISP Reconstructionists investigated the collision and workers cleaned the scene of spilled diesel fuel.
