2 thrown from car after high speed chase in Fort Wayne

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) – Two people were hurt in a rollover crash on Nuttman Avenue, according to the Fort Wayne Police Department.

According to police, an officer was driving south on Ardmore Avenue around 11 p.m. Thursday en route to assist other officers with a call. As he was a driving on Ardmore an oncoming car nearly ran him and another vehicle off the road. The officer was given permission to disregard his backup and attempt to stop the vehicle.

As the officer turned on his lights and sirens the suspect turn east onto Nuttman Avenue and failed to stop.

FWPD Spokesman Officer Jeremy Webb said speeds down Nuttman Avenue reached an excess of 80 miles per hour. The officer was about to stop pursuing the vehicle due to the unsafe speeds when the car hit the railroad tracks near Freeman Street. The driver of the car then lost control and went off the road. The car then crashed through a cattle gate and flipped onto its roof.

Both the driver and passenger were thrown from the vehicle.

Webb said the driver was transported a hospital in critical condition, but was upgraded to serious condition by doctors. Police have not released his name.

The passenger was hospitalized in critical condition and police have not released her name.

Webb said the driver appeared to be in his 20s.

A member of the National Guard helped the police officer pull the driver away from the wreckage of the car.

Webb said alcohol and speeds were contributing factors in the crash, but investigators don’t know why the driver didn’t stop for police. Webb also said officers could smell alcohol around the vehicle and around the two who were in the vehicle.

During the brief pursuit, 911 dispatchers received a call of a reckless driver in the area. Sources confirmed to NewsChannel 15 the vehicle that crashed was the same vehicle described as driving recklessly earlier by the 911 caller.

The crash is under investigation.