Driver eludes police after 100 mph chase

Thursday, June 5, 2014

A Portage man remained at large on Thursday following a vehicle pursuit Tuesday evening that began in Greencastle and ended on Interstate 70.

At 9:49 p.m., Greencastle Police Officer Nick Eastham was sitting stationary in the Feld's parking lot on Bloomington Street, conducting traffic control when he observed a red Mitsubishi Eclipse traveling northbound on Bloomington Street at a high rate of speed.

As Eastham pulled in behind the vehicle it then turned eastbound onto State Road 240 and accelerated rapidly. Eastham then activated his emergency lights and conducted a traffic stop on State Road 240 near Tennessee Street.

During the course of investigation Eastham identified the driver as Aaron Phelps, 23, and a female passenger as Tatiana Brown, 23, of Cloverdale.

Eastham noted that Phelps failed to put the vehicle in park and seemed extremely nervous and uneasy, leading the officer to believe Phelps was preparing to flee. Dispatch officials soon indicated that Phelps was currently unlicensed, as his license had been suspended by the BMV for an unspecified reason.

As Eastham and Putnam County Sheriff's Department Lt. Gregg Slover approached the vehicle with a citation for speeding on South Bloomington Street and a summons to appear for driving while on suspended license, Phelps quickly took off at a high rate of speed. Eastham and Slover then returned to their vehicles and a pursuit was initialized.

The pursuit began on eastbound State Road 240 at which point the subject blew through a stop sign at the intersection of Zinc Mill Road. The suspect then continued eastbound, running a red light at the intersection of State Road 240 and Calbert Way.

"The vehicle continued east, then turned north onto Fillmore Road and immediately turned into the old Techno Trim (IAC storage building) parking lot. The vehicle then drove through the parking lot at a high rate of speed to the southwest corner of the lot before ramping over a parking block near a drainage culvert and driving through the yard back onto State Road 240," Eastham said. "When the suspect vehicle ramped the parking block, this action dislodged the rear bumper of the Eclipse to the point that it was hanging on the right side."

Sgt. Charles Inman and Officer Matt Huffman later joined the pursuit as Phelps headed back toward town on State Road 240 to Indianapolis Road, before reaching 10th Street.

"The vehicle then blew a stop sign at the intersection of 10th Street and 240 and nearly hit a civilian vehicle," Eastham noted.

Phelps then continued east onto County Road 200 South to U.S. 40 before turning northbound onto U.S. 231 and running another red light and nearly hitting another vehicle.

"The suspect continued northbound back into the city limits until he apparently noticed Cloverdale Police and Greencastle Police units set up near Martinsville Street with pursuit intervention Stop Sticks set out," Eastham explained. "The vehicle then made a sharp turn into the Country Mark gas station lot where it nearly hit a vehicle at the pumps as well as the pumps themselves."

With Huffman taking the lead in the pursuit, Phelps then turned back onto U.S. 231. A Cloverdale Police unit was traveling northbound on U.S. 231 near County Road 700 South. For unexplained reasons, the suspect veered into the northbound lane in an apparent attempt to strike the assisting officer. Phelps then returned to his lane of travel before repeating this potentially deadly driving behavior by veering directly into the lane of travel of two separate oncoming civilian vehicles.

The suspect continued southbound before reaching the intersection of I-70 and U.S. 231. Dispatch officials then reported to officers that the suspect had called 911 from inside the fleeing vehicle, reporting he would not be taken alive. The 911 call soon disconnected.

"Speeds increased, with the fleeing vehicle reaching speeds over 110 mph. The suspect vehicle recklessly weaved in and out of heavy interstate traffic nearly hitting several vehicles, one of which was a school bus," Eastham explained. "As the vehicle neared approximately the 56-mile marker on I-70 the vehicle swerved between two semi tractors. Officer Huffman, who was still the lead vehicle, followed and the suspect vehicle then abruptly applied its brakes causing Huffman to strike the rear of the vehicle before continuing eastbound on the interstate."

As the pursuit neared the 59-mile marker, Hendricks County units set up Stop Sticks once again. Phelps then, in an attempt to miss the Stop Sticks, swerved to the left causing the vehicle to travel into the median of the roadway. The vehicle then over-corrected back on the roadway, with one wheel having hit the Stop Sticks.

Phelps continued on I-70 at a high rate of speed, eventually hitting a 2006 Cadillac STS driven by Illinois resident Anthony Gabriel, which caused the fleeing motorist to lose control and spin out at the 62-mile marker.

"The driver then jumped from the vehicle, leaving his female passenger trapped inside. The suspect fled north across the westbound lanes of the interstate into the ditch before running into a wooded area north of the interstate into a field," Eastham said.

A Hendricks County K9 unit along with Cloverdale Officer James Martin began to track the subject, eventually losing his scent and subsequent track approximately 3/4 of a mile east of the scene.

After freeing her from the vehicle, officers temporarily detained Brown for officer safety during the course of the investigation. Hendricks County medical personnel later checked her out before signing a release declining treatment.

Brown was then transported to the Greencastle Police Department where she was interviewed regarding her involvement. She indicated to authorities that she had just met Phelps earlier in the day at Lieber State Park and that the two were en route to Greencastle to meet friends for dinner when stopped by the police.

Brown indicated that during the stop, Phelps was on the telephone with his mother apologizing for his actions and expressing concern that he was going back to jail. Brown went on to add that she pleaded with Phelps to stop, and considered jumping from the vehicle but could not due to excessive speeds.

Authorities state that a review of Phelp's criminal history revealed he was convicted in Porter County, in 2008 of fleeing law enforcement, subsequently resulting in a crash that lead to the death of his own 16-year old female passenger.

A check with Porter County officials revealed that the Mitsubishi Eclipse Phelps was driving had not yet been reported stolen, but had been taken without the knowledge of its registered owner, Phelps' own Porter County girlfriend.

Assisting Greencastle officers with the pursuit was the Putnam County Sheriff's Department, Cloverdale Police Department, multiple agencies from Hendricks County and the Indiana State Police.

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  • I saw part of this pursuit, saw multiples of new-looking squad cars converge in front of Papa Joe's Pizza and roar off after this car like the start of the 500.

    Pursuits are VERY DANGEROUS to the public and frequently end in accidents that kill or maim people not involved.

    As I saw this develop, I wondered whether the pursuit was justifiable. They had his ID...

    What need was there to put the public in jeopardy??????

    -- Posted by Victor_V on Wed, Jun 4, 2014, at 8:10 PM
  • Come on Victor! If hey don't pursue suspects who flee, no one will fear being stopped EVER! No disincentive to break the law if all you have to do to get off scot-free is punch it. What if this guy goes out tonight and continues his crime spree? Robs someone? Assaults someone? Or, God forbids, kills someone? Let the police do their job. They don't create these dangerous situations, the bad guys do!

    -- Posted by Geologist on Wed, Jun 4, 2014, at 9:24 PM
  • Well .. they never caught him anyway .. so he's just as likely to "continue his crime spree" anyway.

    As for the K-9 .. maybe he needs retired. lol

    -- Posted by Emmes on Thu, Jun 5, 2014, at 11:20 AM
  • I'm finding less reasons every day not to be disappointed in the ppolicing around here.

    -- Posted by Clovertucky on Thu, Jun 5, 2014, at 3:18 PM
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