Police release video of high-speed chase in Kenosha

KENOSHA CO. — New video has been released from the high-speed police chase back on May 8th in Kenosha County. In Part 1, you can see one officer attempting to stop the suspect. He later terminated the chase after it reached speeds over 100 mph. In Part 2, another officer starts pursuing the suspect until he eventually crashes and flees on foot.

Police say the driver of the stolen vehicle is 16-year-old Andrew Vargas from Lake Geneva. At a hearing on May 17th, Vargas waived his right to a preliminary hearing and was bound over for trial.

Vargas faces ten criminal charges after a high-speed chase involving a stolen vehicle in Kenosha early Tuesday morning, May 8th. The charges include fleeing an officer, obstructing an officer and felony bail jumping.

According to the criminal complaint, Vargas was driving a white pickup truck just after midnight early Tuesday morning. Officials say the plates on the truck were not registered to that vehicle. Vargas then apparently went through an intersection without stopping for a stop sign. That prompted an officer in a marked squad to pull the truck over.

The complaint indicates Vargas neither stopped nor slowed down after the officer attempted to pull him over. Instead, he weaved his way around Kenosha. At one point, he reached up to 100 miles an hour. That’s when the pursuit ended — based on an order by a supervisor.

About 20 minutes after the first pursuit ended, another Kenosha police officer spotted the truck and began a second pursuit. Again, speeds reached approximately 90 miles an hour. That pursuit ended abruptly when the truck’s front right tire went flat. The vehicle drove into the grass and struck a stop sign before coming to a stop.

The complaint indicates after the truck stopped, Vargas then jumped out of the truck and ran from the chasing officer. Another two officers picked up the pursuit until Vargas “jumped into the Des Plaines River and swam southbound.”

Police used a helicopter with a thermal imaging camera to locate Vargas a few minutes later. He was found hiding in a wooded area — and was taken into custody without a fight.

One officer was hurt in the chase when he fell while trying to scale a fence. He got a cut to his left eyebrow that required stitches.