A Wausau-area man is dead, following a police chase early Monday morning. Police say the chase started after a 77-year-old man with Alzheimer’s left his home in the Wausau suburb of Rothschild and started driving.
Officials say Fred Abel had made statements about dying and refused to stop for police. Abel led cops on a 10-mile chase before missing a curve on a county highway, crashing into a tree on a county highway in rural Wausau.
Rothschild police Chief Dean Albrecht says an initial look at the case shows officers followed procedure for a pursuit situation. He says it’s unfortunate that it resulted in a tragic loss of life.
Albrecht says the crash remains under investigation.
AUDIO: Matt Lehman reports (:32)