NEW CASTLE, Ind. – Police arrested a man after a chase ended in a crash that totaled a police car in New Castle.
According to the New Castle Police Department, a Cadiz town marshal initiated the pursuit around 11:15 p.m. Friday. New Castle police responded, as well as Henry County sheriff’s deputies and state troopers, as the suspect headed eastbound on State Road 38.
The driver fled from a traffic stop, police said, and officers approached State Road 38 and County Road 400 West. The driver, after spotting the responding officers, swerved into an oncoming traffic lane and narrowly avoided a collision with a police vehicle, police said.
Due to the heightened danger of the situation, police closed a portion of State Road 38 to traffic. During the chase, the suspect drove through yards to avoid responding officers and stop sticks.
A New Castle officer also set up stop sticks near the intersection of State Road 38 and State Road 3. As the driver approached, he crashed his vehicle into the side of a New Castle patrol car. The collision, at an estimated 60 mph, left both vehicles with significant damage. The officer was not in the car because he was out deploying stop sticks.
“If the officer had been sitting in his patrol car, he would have received major injuries or may have died,” said New Castle Police Chief Matt Schofield.
Both vehicles appeared to be total losses.
Police identified the driver as Aaron Phelps of Portage. After the crash, Phelps complied with “numerous repeated commands” and exited his vehicle.
He was taken to IU Health Ball Memorial for treatment before being released into police custody. He was booked into the Henry County Jail on preliminary charges of resisting law enforcement with a vehicle and reckless driving.