FRANKFORT, Ind. — A Tippecanoe County man faces a list of charges after police say he led them in a chase for nearly 30 miles in a stolen semi.
Just after midnight Saturday, Indiana State Police said someone called 911 about a semi-truck that had struck two vehicles and then left the scene near State Road 25 and County Road 900 East.
A trooper located the suspected semi, driven by 33-year old Jonathan Cain of West Lafayette, as he was getting onto I-65 south from State Road 25.
Police said they turned on their emergency lights and chased the semi on I-65 as Cain avoided “multiple sets of tire deflation devices” before hitting one about 17 miles later, near the Frankfort exit.
According to ISP, the pursuit continued for another ten miles when, near the Thorntown exit, “the Freightliner exited Interstate 65 into the rest park and went off the road.”
Troopers took Cain into custody and said he showed signs of impairment and failed the field sobriety test. ISP said further investigation revealed he had a blood alcohol content of .095%.
After notifying the semi-truck company, police learned the truck and trailer had been stolen.
Cain was taken to the Tippecanoe County Jail where he faces the following preliminary charges:
- Felony unauthorized control of a vehicle
- Felony operating a vehicle while intoxicated
- Felony possession of stolen property
- Felony resisting law enforcement with a vehicle
- Misdemeanor aggressive driving
- Misdemeanor leaving the scene of a crash
- Misdemeanor operating a vehicle while intoxicated endangerment
- Misdemeanor operating a vehicle while intoxicated