Highway chase: Speeds hit 100 mph as driver eludes authorities across multiple counties

LIBERTY TOWNSHIP, Ohio (WXIX) - Speeds hit 100 mph as a driver in a suspected stolen vehicle fled authorities from Butler County to Dayton on two highways early Friday, according to the Butler County Sheriff’s Office and Ohio State Highway Patrol.

The sheriff’s office and troopers both cut the chase off at different points.

The driver remains at large and was last seen in a black Audi A-6 with Ohio license plate JWE-8662 on westbound Third Street from Williams Street in Dayton’s West Third Street Historic District, county dispatchers say.

It all started shortly after 4 a.m. Friday. Fairfield police reported the Audi was stolen at Thornton’s gas station, according to OSP.

A deputy sheriff spotted the vehicle on eastbound Ohio 129 toward the Cincinnati-Dayton Road exit in Liberty Township at 4:13 a.m., county dispatchers say.

The driver of the Audi refused to pull over, so the sheriff’s office gave chase on Ohio 129 to northbound Interstate 75.

The sheriff’s office alerted Monroe and Middletown police that the chase was coming their way up on the highway.

Troopers joined the pursuit as backup, OSP says.

Officers with one of the law enforcement agencies threw so-called “stop sticks” onto the highway at the Ohio 63 exit in an attempt to deflate the Audi’s tires and stop it.

The fleeing driver navigated around them, however, and the pursuit continued toward Middletown, according to dispatchers.

The sheriff’s office stopped chasing the driver once the Audi reached the Ohio 122 exit in Middletown, according to OSP.

State troopers stayed with the vehicle and pursued the suspect for about another 20 miles clear into the city of Dayton, where they also cut it off in the West Third Street Historic District.

No injuries were reported, dispatchers say.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call the Butler County Sheriff’s Office at 513-785-1300.

See a spelling or grammar error in our story? Please include the title when you click here to report it.

Copyright 2023 WXIX. All rights reserved.