MIDDLETOWN – Yesterday afternoon troopers with the Indiana State Police Pendleton District pursued a vehicle for a traffic violation that ended in the suspect crashing head on to an Indiana State trooper.
At approximately 2:40 p.m., Master Trooper Barry Bischoff was patrolling SR 109 when he noticed a blue passenger car going 88 in a 55MPH area, and attempted to pull the car over.
The driver fled law enforcement instead of stopping, and a brief pursuit ensued northbound on State Road 109, then on US 36 toward Middletown.
Sergeant Coley McCutcheon and other officers assisted. Trooper Corey Bell managed to drive ahead of the pursuit, stopping and deploying stop-sticks to de-escalate the situation. Instead, the driver spun and headed back the way he’d come, back towards the officers in pursuit.
The driver, later identified as Dustin Powell, 34, of Knightstown, missed one car, but collided head-on with Sgt. McCutcheon’s vehicle.
The driver of the blue Ford Mustang was identified, then transported to the hospital for medical check out where he was after taken to the Henry County Jail.
He is preliminarily charged with resisting law enforcement, a Level 6 Felony.
Sergeant Coley McCutcheon was transported to the hospital with minor injuries.
US 36 at Mechanicsburg Road is currently shut down while investigators document the scene. Master Trooper Barry Bischoff was assisted by other members of the Indiana State Police, Henry County Sheriffs Department, Madison County EMA, Fortville Police Department, Chesterfield Police Department, Henry County EMS, and Affordable Towing.
