SOUTH BEND - An 18-year-old South Bend man was taken to jail Friday night after police said he led them on a high-speed chase that ended with a crash that took out a traffic light pole.
Sgt. Gene Eyster said he was patrolling in the area of Roosevelt and U.S. 31, on South Bend’s far south side, when he spotted a speeding red Ford F-150 pickup just after 8 p.m.
Eyster said he attempted stop the truck, but the driver only continued into South Bend, driving at speeds around 60 mph, twice the 30 mph speed limit posted for much of Michigan Street.
Other police joined the pursuit and officers placed “stop sticks” near the intersection of Michigan and Sample.
Eyster said the truck hit one set to sticks, then swerved to miss a second - causing the truck to veer out of control.
The Ford crashed through a metal traffic-light pole, sheering it off and sending it crashing to the ground. It next ran over a small ornamental tree planted through a hole in the sidewalk before striking and bending a fire hydrant at a nearly 60 degree angle. Street department crews were later dispatched to investigate how severely the hydrant was damaged.
