WARSAW, Ind. (WNDU) – A 21-year-old Silver Lake man is facing multiple felony and misdemeanor charges after Indiana State Police say he led a trooper on a high-speed chase that ended when he crashed into two other vehicles.
David Rodriguez Jr. has been charged with resisting law enforcement with a vehicle (felony), criminal recklessness with a deadly weapon (felony), resisting law enforcement (misdemeanor), reckless driving with injury (misdemeanor), leaving the scene of a crash with injury (misdemeanor), and two counts of criminal vandalism (misdemeanors), according to online court records.
David Rodriguez Jr.(Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Office)
Police said the incident began just before 4:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 7, when an Indiana State Police trooper patrolling near the intersection of U.S. 30 and State Road 15 saw two white Chrysler 300s commit several moving violations.
After the trooper activated his emergency lights, investigators said the driver of the rear Chrysler 300, identified as Rodriguez, accelerated abruptly, made unsafe lane changes that cut off other motorists, and entered the center turn lane. Police said Rodriguez reached speeds over 100 miles per hour while traveling south on State Road 15. Due to increasing traffic congestion and public safety concerns, the trooper terminated the chase.
Moments later, investigators said the trooper saw white smoke near the intersection of Detroit Street and Fort Wayne Street. When he arrived, he found Rodriguez had crashed into a Ford F-150 and a Cadillac SUV, both stopped in the southbound lanes.
Police said the Chrysler 300 crashed into a Ford F-150 and a Cadillac SUV, both stopped in the southbound lanes at the intersection of Detroit Street and Fort Wayne Street.(Indiana State Police)
Police said Rodriguez continued attempting to accelerate through the Ford F-150 following the crash but was unable to get away. A female passenger exited the Chrysler 300 and surrendered immediately.
As the trooper and a Warsaw Police Department officer initiated a felony stop, police said Rodriguez exited the vehicle, refused verbal commands, and reached back into the vehicle before running away. Multiple Warsaw Police Department officers pursued him and took him into custody without further incident.
Rodriguez was taken to the Kosciusko County Jail. Police said the female passenger was taken to a hospital to be treated for injuries she suffered in the crash.
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