Man arrested after high speed chase through Cape Girardeau onto I-55

A driver seeking to avoid a traffic stop led Cape Girardeau police officers on a chase Wednesday morning that reached speeds of more than 100 miles per hour on Interstate 55.

Wayne W. Douglass, 21, of Mound City, Ill., ran his 2001 black Chevrolet Camaro into a ditch near mile marker 104 on I-55 after shredding the right rear tire during the high-speed chase. At the scene, Sgt. Rick Price said the pursuing officers reported that Williams seemed to be attempting to drive through a grassy area to an outer road in an attempt to evade police.

The pursuit began on Broadway when officer Joey Hann sought to stop the Camaro for turning against a light and almost causing an accident, said police spokesman Cpl. Jason Selzer. Instead of stopping for the officer, the driver sped up Broadway to Kingshighway, crossing the center line into southbound traffic at least twice, then entered I-55 at Center Junction.

At Kingshighway and Lexington Avenue, Wiliams struck a sport utility vehicle as he re-entered the northbound lanes, striking the other vehicle with the right rear of the Camaro, Selzer said, reading from Hann's report. As he drove north, the right rear tire shredded and pieces of the car body began breaking off.

The attempt to reach an outer road occurred as a Missouri State Highway Patrol car prepared to join the pursuit from the southbound lanes of the interstate.

When the car came to rest in a ditch, Williams tried to run. He tripped, then refused to stop when commanded by Hann. Williams was subdued with a Taser and arrested, Selzer said.

No charges had been filed as of midafternoon Wednesday, but the police seek charges of driving while intoxicated, failure to yield to oncoming vehicles, failure to yield to emergency vehicles, two counts of failure to maintain a single lane of traffic, leaving the scene of an accident and running a red light, Selzer said.

Williams had no outstanding warrants, Selzer said.

rkeller@semissourian.com

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