Police say a local man ran cars off the road, crashed into a stopped police cruiser and drove more than 110 miles per hour before finally being arrested.
It started when an Illinois State Police trooper said he saw a dark-colored Honda Accord traveling at a high rate of speed northbound on IL 78 just before 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, May 1, 2013. While the trooper was trying to catch up to the Accord, the trooper said the Accord passed vehicles in a no passing zone and ran other cars off the road.
Police said the trooper caught up to the Accord and reportedly “gave a visual cue to pull over” to the driver at the intersection of U.S. Highway 6 in Annawan. That’s when the Accord driver allegedly hit the gas, crashing into the left side of the squad car before driving into the lawn of a nearby business.
The Accord driver then got onto eastbound Interstate 80. He accelerated to an estimated 110 miles per hour and the trooper decided it was unsafe to continue the pursuit.
The trooper used a state photo database to identify the Accord driver. Police went to a residence and arrested 25-year-old Travis Ladson of Kewanee.
Online records show Ladson was charged with criminal damage to government property, reckless driving and three counts of aggravated fleeing and eluding.
Ladson was held in the Henry County Jail in lieu of $200,000 bond.
