West Chester man leads troopers on wild chase through Del in car on bare rim: officials
West Chester man leads troopers on wild chase through Delaware
A West Chester man led Delaware State Police on a pursuit that stretched across a majority of the state, crossing through many jurisdictions, covering at least 45 miles, before crashing, attempting to run, but ultimately caught by troopers.
FREDERICA, Del. - A West Chester man led Delaware State Police on a pursuit that stretched across a majority of the state, crossing through many jurisdictions, covering at least 45 miles, before crashing, attempting to run, but ultimately caught by troopers.
The chase began after New Castle County Police tried to pull him over due to a bare rim on the car he was driving.
What we know:
Friday afternoon, about 12:45, officials with Delaware State Police said troopers were contacted, saying New Castle County Police were pursuing a man driving a BMW with a Pennsylvania tag and driving on a bare rim.
Troopers joined the pursuit after the driver, later identified as 22-year-old West Chester resident Thomas Casey, was seen heading south into Middletown, Delaware, on State Route 1.
Timeline:
As the chase continued, parts of the BMW began to disengage from the vehicle, hurtling into the air. An unidentified metal object struck the hood of a DSP vehicle, tearing into the hood.
Next, the metal brake caliper separated from the car and crashed into the windshield of a different DSP vehicle, almost hitting the trooper inside.
As they approached Dover, officials say Casey began to speed up. About 12 miles south of Dover, a trooper tried to lay down traffic spikes, Casey saw them in enough time to swerve, nearly hitting the trooper standing there. The trooper ran out of the way of the vehicle to avoid being hit.
Another attempt at traffic spikes was made a short time later, but with the same results, as Casey swerved towards the trooper, who also had to jump out of the way to avoid being hit.
Dig deeper:
Casey then merged onto Exit 86 toward Frederica, and as he did so, he hit a traffic sign and crashed into a utility pole in front of a local store.
He jumped out of the disabled vehicle and tried to make a run for it, but troopers grabbed him before he could elude them.
He then resisted, officials said, causing minor injuries to the troopers.
Big picture view:
Officials said the troopers noticed Casey showed continued signs of impairment.
He was taken to a nearby barracks and a legal blood test was performed.
Casey was then charged with assault, reckless endanger, resisting arrest with force, driving under the influence of a drug and other related offenses.
He is being held at the Sussex Correctional Institution on a $50,877 cash bond.