A Casey man, hoping to avoid incarceration, tried to elude law enforcement officers by leading them on a 100 mph chase through rural Waukee.
Austin John Worthington, 26, of 2065 White Pole Road, Casey, was charged with eluding-speed 25 or more over limit, driving under suspension, failure to provide insurance-accident related, failure to maintain registration, improper brake light failure to obey stop sign.
The incident began about 2:30 p.m. Sept. 9 on U.S. Highway 6 near T Avenue, where an Iowa State Patrol Trooper tried to make a traffic stop on a 2000 Chevrolet Impala with expired tags and a broken brake light.
The trooper activated the patrol vehicle’s lights and siren but the Impala, driven by Worthington, “refused to stop” and “accelerated away,” according to court records.
Worthington allegedly “failed to stop at numerous stop signs” and “swerved around multiple law enforcement vehicle attempting to use stop sticks,” according to court records.
The pursuit, reaching speeds of “100 mph in a posted 55 mph zone,” ended when Worthington’s vehicle “left the roadway on 302nd Street to the south and hit a ravine, becoming disabled with totaling damage,” according to court records.
Worthington exited the vehicle through its window and told the trooper that “he ran because he was going to go to jail,” according to court records.
Worthington was held in the Dallas County Jail on a $5,000 cash or surety bond. He is scheduled for arraignment Oct. 6 in Dallas County District Court.
*A criminal charge is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
