TIPTON, Ind. — Tipton police arrested a 31-year-old man Thursday after the said he led them on a 10-mile chase in a stolen work truck, with speeds reaching nearly 100 miles hour.
On Feb. 27, police received a report of a stolen white 2005 Chevrolet work truck from a local concrete business.
On March 9, Tipton County sheriff's deputies got a tip about seeing the suspected vehicle in Windfall, Indiana.
Police responded to the area and saw the stolen truck leaving a home.
Police said the driver, later identified as 31-year-old Matthew D. Earnheart of Windfall, committed several traffic violations, so they tried to stop him.
Police said Earnheart hit an Eastern Howard School Corporation school bus during the chase, with several kids on the bus at the time of the crash.
Nobody was injured in the crash, and the school bus only had minor damage, police said.
After hitting the school bus, police said Earnheart continued the chase, with the stolen truck eventually getting stuck in soft terrain near the intersection of State Road 19 and County Road 200 South in southeastern Howard County.
Police said Earnheart abandoned the truck and ran from the scene, crossing a creek, to avoid arrest. Police found him near a wood line and took him into custody.
Police determined the truck Earnheart was driving was the same stolen work truck on Feb. 27, and the truck was partially painted to cover up its original appearance.
Police arrested Earnheart for several felony and misdemeanor charges, including theft of an automobile, resisting law enforcement with a vehicle, criminal recklessness, resisting law enforcement, criminal mischief, leaving the scene of a property damage crash and reckless driving. Police also cited Earnheart for driving with a suspended license.
The Tipton County Sheriff's Department, Tipton County Communications, Indiana State Police, Howard County Sheriff’s Department, Windfall Police Department and Community Howard Regional Hospital Ambulance Service assisted Tipton police in the incident.
Tipton is roughly 50 miles north of downtown Indianapolis.
