PENDLETON — An Illinois man is in critical condition after apparently suffering a medical event following a police pursuit in Madison County.
According to a report from Indiana State Police, it started around 2:30 a.m. Wednesday when Madison County officials received reports of a car heading south in the northbound lanes of Interstate 69 around the 214 mile marker.
Troopers said an Ingalls police officer got behind the vehicle which was traveling north in the northbound lane at 25 mph. When the officer tried to stop the vehicle, the driver took off at a high rate of speed, changing direction in the northbound lanes three times. Three police cars were damaged before the suspect's car struck a semi and a second Pendleton police car at the 215 mile marker and came to rest against a guardrail.
The driver, a 43-year-old man from Normal, Ill., refused to exit the vehicle and became combative, troopers said. Officers used a stun gun to get the man out of the vehicle and an EMS unit was called to check on the man. As EMS was checking the man, he suffered a medical event, troopers said.
The driver was transported to IU Health Saxony Hospital in Noblesville, where he is in critical condition, state police said.
The name of the driver is being withheld pending notification of family.
A female passenger in the vehicle was released at the scene.
The Madison County Sheriff's Department has asked the Indiana State Police to investigate the police action.
The incident remains under investigation.
