Wisconsin police chase stretches 41 miles; driver, passenger arrested

GERMANTOWN, Wis. – A 41-mile pursuit that stretched from Fond du Lac County into Germantown ended with two people in custody on Friday night, July 5.

According to the Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office, the driver was a 32-year-old man with a lengthy criminal history. The passenger, also a convicted felon, had a nationwide warrant out for his arrest.

The pursuit began on County Highway B near Interstate 41. When a deputy turned on his lights and sirens to stop the vehicle for speeding and running a stop sign, the driver instead sped off.

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Deputies chased the fleeing vehicle onto I-41 southbound and then called for help from neighboring law enforcement agencies. 

Near Slinger, the sheriff’s office said the driver tried to get off the interstate in an attempt to avoid stop sticks. A deputy performed a PIT maneuver, but the driver was able to regain control and get back onto the interstate.

The pursuit continued southbound until Washington County sheriff’s deputies and Germantown police officers successfully used stop sticks. The fleeing vehicle tried to get off at County Line Road but lost control and went into a ditch. Some vehicles that were uninvolved in the chase also hit the stop sticks and got flat tires in the process.

The driver was taken into custody without further incident after a high-risk traffic stop, the sheriff’s office said.

A state trooper arrested the passenger, who ran from the scene. The passenger was hurt due to running through thick vegetation in an attempt to get away, the sheriff’s office said, and was placed into custody again after receiving medical treatment.