Sheriff’s deputies arrested an Indianapolis man after he fled in a stolen van during an attempted traffic stop, reaching speeds of more than 100 mph in a construction zone, and bumped into a deputy’s patrol car.
Duane Lee Applegate, 25, was arrested on charges of resisting law enforcement and auto theft, both Level 6 felonies, as well as reckless driving, operating a vehicle while intoxicated and operating a vehicle without ever obtaining a license, all misdemeanors.
Applegate began tailgating a sheriff’s deputy in a marked vehicle at 8:44 p.m. Friday on Wakefield Court in a Center Grove area subdivision, according to a Johnson County Sheriff’s Office report.
“(The) minivan was following me so close that I could not view the headlights in my rear view mirror,” the deputy said in the report.
The deputy pulled off to the side and stopped. Applegate pulled up next to him and slammed on his brakes. Applegate then sped off, turning around in a cul-de-sac and proceeding out of the neighborhood, onto Bluff Road and eventually south on State Road 37, according to the report.
The deputy called for backup and officers chased Applegate for about 12 minutes. He ignored stop lights and signs, weaved in and out of heavy traffic and drove through a construction zone at about 107 mph, crashing into barrels, the report said.
He turned west on State Road 144 and slowed his speed to 6-8 mph, according to the report. He pulled into a gas station at Huggin Hollow Road and stopped the van. Officers observed him drinking out of a silver can and listening to his music, ignoring all commands to turn off the van, show his hands and exit the vehicle, they said.
It was at that point the van rolled back and struck a deputy’s patrol car, the report said.
Officers had the driver in custody at 8:57 p.m., according to the report, but he remained uncooperative and verbally combative. Officers placed him in handcuffs and leg restraints. At one point, he attempted to pee on a deputy.
Applegate blew a .093 blood alcohol concentration on a portable breath test, above the legal limit of .08.
The van was reported stolen out of Indianapolis, the report said.
Applegate was taken to Johnson Memorial Hospital for a checkup, then to the Johnson County jail where he is held on $1,500 cash bond.
The Johnson County Prosecutor’s Office will decide what, if any, charges to file.
