SOUTHERN INDIANA – A Charlestown man has been arrested after leading officers from multiple agencies on a chase down I-65 and crashing into a Trooper. A fatal crash then occurred following a traffic backup.
The preliminary investigation into the morning’s events reveals that shortly after Midnight on Tuesday, Scott County Deputies advised they were in pursuit of a silver Acura passenger car on I-65 southbound.
The vehicle reportedly fled at more than 110 miles per hour as the pursuit continued south into Clark County. Near the 9-mile marker, the Acura struck Stop Stick tire deflation devices set up by troopers from the Indiana State Police Post in Sellersburg; however, the driver continued south.
As the pursuit reached the 3.6-mile marker, the Acura collided with an Indiana State Police car, and both vehicles came to rest in the roadway. Trooper Justin Mears was injured in the crash. Trooper Mears is a nine-year veteran of the department and has consistently been one of the state’s top 5 OWI enforcement officers. Trooper Mears has been released from the hospital and will remain off duty while he recuperates.
The trooper was injured and temporarily entrapped in his car. The suspect driver, later identified as 27-year-old Dylin Lee Taylor of Charlestown, Indiana, fled on foot and jumped off the interstate onto US 31.
ISP Troopers, Clark and Scott County officers, Jeffersonville and Clarksville Police, and the Clark County EMA assisted in the search for Dylin Taylor. K9 units from multiple agencies also assisted. Taylor was located inside a bus near the Sportsdrome Speedway a short time later.
Troopers arrested Dylin Taylor after he was medically cleared on charges:
- Battery w/ Bodily Injury to a Public Safety Officer -Level 5 Felony
- Neglect of a Dependent Resulting in Bodily Injury – Level 5 Felony
- Resisting Law Enforcement with a vehicle and causing serious bodily injury – Level 5 Felony
- Battery by means of a Deadly Weapon – Level 5 Felony
- Criminal Recklessness with Aggressive Driving – Level 6 Felony
- Resisting Law Enforcement with a Vehicle – Level 6 Felony
- Resisting Law Enforcement – A Misdemeanor
- Reckless Driving Causing Bodily Injury – A Misdemeanor
- Driving While Suspended – A Misdemeanor
- Criminal Recklessness – B Misdemeanor
Taylor was then incarcerated at the Clark County Jail.
Officers also discovered an adult female and a child were onboard the Acura during the pursuit. Ambulances transported both to local hospitals for minor injuries.
The injured trooper was transported to University Hospital, where doctors treated him for a head injury. He was later released.
After the initial crash at the 3.6-mile marker, all I-65 southbound lanes were blocked, and traffic reached a standstill. Approximately ten minutes later, a southbound UPS semi-truck collided with the rear of a second semi-truck, and the trailer stopped in the backup.
Tragically, the driver of the UPS truck 25-year-old Patrick Dene Harvey of Brownsburg, Indiana was killed in the crash, and a co-driver asleep in the UPS truck’s sleeper birth was rushed to University Hospital with serious injuries. An ISP crash reconstruction team was called to the scene, and I-65 southbound remained closed until approximately 12:20 p.m. Tuesday.
Both the initial pursuit case and the fatal crash are still under investigation.
