ALMA, Wis. — On a second try, police succeeded with tire-deflating spikes to halt a runaway driver who had led them on a 28-mile chase. Arrested was Frederick Clements, 23, of Mindoro in LaCrosse County. The mid-afternoon chase began with a traffic stop on State Highway 35 north of Pepin. But, police said, Clements pressed a foot deep into the pedal and sped southward. Pepin County officers clocked his truck at 110 mph. Before entering Pepin, deputies suspended pursuit for the safety of the public. Clements kept going. The pursuit resumed. Once across the county line, Buffalo County deputies, with Wabasha police, joined the chase and laid down a tire deflation device. Quick to see the device, Clements left the road, drove through a ditch, and kept going. Before entering the Alma, the chase was again terminated for the safety of the public. Moments later a second tire deflation device successfully deflated three of Clement’s tires. Still he kept going but only two more miles. By then, patrol vehicles boxed him in.
Chase prone?
In June 2020 in LaCrosse County, Clements was charged with first-degree recklessly endangering safety and fleeing an officer, both felonies, after a chase that reached 113 mph. Police said he was stopped for doing 45 mph in a 25 zone on a residential street in West Salem. Also: his Mitsubishi Eclipse convertible had no plates. Police called off the chase because it was too dangerous to continue. Clemens turned himself later that night. Why did he flee? Clements said he was close to getting his driver license back and didn’t want s citation for operating a vehicle after suspension.