A 37-year-old Appleton man is facing charges, after he allegedly led officers on a 45 mile long high speed chase across three counties.
It all began around 7:30 last night, when authorities were alerted to reports of a reckless driver heading south on Highway 41 in Winnebago County. State troopers and a Fond du Lac County sheriff’s deputy tried stopping the vehicle just west of Fond du Lac, but the driver kept going and so did the chase.
Authorities said the offending vehicle struck the deputy’s squad car and caused it to roll over. The 46-year-old officer was treated at a hospital and later released.
Meanwhile, the chase kept going south of Fond du Lac and into Dodge County before another sheriff’s helped end the chase. Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Captain Rick Olig says an officer was able to pull up alongside the driver and gently direct him towards a snow bank along the highway.
The suspect was taken into custody without being hurt. Olig says there had been reports that the driver had a weapon, although one was not recovered following the chase.
Bob Nelson, KFIZ