“Stop! Raise your hands!” It was a dramatic if not dangerous finale to a police chase. The driver had abandoned his disabled vehicle on the ice on Lake Altoona and tried getting away on foot. Image: Altoona police
Roads around lake’s perimeter like a fence
ALTOONA, Wis. – A driver being chased by police made a daring turn into the ice on Lake Altoona to get away. A bad choice. His vehicle got stuck in the lake snow. So he set out running across the 840-facre frozen lake. He gave up a half mile out – a police searchlight illuminating his every move and officers waiting every which way on shore. Finally Nicholas Rickey, 22, of Chippewa Falls, gave up. The chase had begun when Lake Hallie police pursued a pursuing a vehicle into Eau Claire County. Officers were positioned to intercept the vehicle, but the driver turned into the Seymour Boat Landing and drove onto the Lake Altoona ice. Officers followed half mile on the ice until Rickey was taken into custody. He was walked back to the Lake Altoona Park boat landing and turned him over to Lake Hallie police. Police said Rickey’s pockets were stuffed with alcoholic beverages and so too his vehicle.
Rickey. Booked at the Chippewa County Jail for fleeing an officer, intoxicated driving, and driving with a revoked license. His third time for drunken-driving.