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Suspect still at large after pursuit that lasted more than an hour

After a pursuit that lasted for more than an hour, police were still looking for a van and driver last seen in Davenport and Rock Island.

After a pursuit that lasted for more than an hour, police were still looking for a van and driver last seen in Davenport and Rock Island.

The driver of a green Chevrolet Astro van “drove recklessly through a construction zone near Calamus on Highway 30” at about 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, November 19, 2014, according to a spokesman for the Iowa State Patrol.  Troopers joined the pursuit after Clinton County deputies could not get the vehicle stopped near Dewitt.

The van driver was also accused of driving off without paying for gas at a filling station in Mt. Vernon, and of running “many” stoplights in Cedar Rapids, the spokesman later said.

The pursuit continued southbound on Highway 61, reportedly traveling at a high rate of speed southbound in the northbound lanes after avoiding stop sticks near mile marker 124.  It reached the interchange with Interstate 80 at about 10:45 a.m.

Scott County deputies and Davenport Police also tried, unsuccessfully, to stop the van.

The pursuit continued westbound on I-80 to Northwest Boulevard, where the van reportedly exited and continued southbound past Division Street and past 53rd Street.

“A Trooper used intentional vehicle contact by pushing the vehicle off the roadway when it exited westbound I-80 at NW Boulevard,” said Trooper Dan Loussaert with the Iowa State Police. That pushed the van into a ditch, but the driver kept going.

A vehicle was reportedly struck by the van as the pursuit passed NorthPark Mall.

At some points in the pursuit, the van was reportedly traveling at more than 50 miles per hour on city streets. At other points, it reportedly traveled at or below the speed limit.

The suspect reportedly went east to Kimberly Road and south before traveling west and into neighborhoods in the downtown Davenport area.  The suspect vehicle reportedly hit another occupied car at 4th and Warren streets.

No injuries were reported in either crash attributed to the suspect van, Loussaert said.

The van was last seen just after it crossed the Centennial Bridge into Rock Island, Illinois at about 11:30 a.m.  It was last seen a few minutes later in the downtown Rock Island area.

The van driver was described as a light-skinned black man with a shaved head and wearing a dark-colored hoodie.  The van had damage to the driver’s side, and expired Iowa license plates on it that did not belong with that vehicle.

Anyone who sees the van should call police.

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