High-Speed Pursuit Ends With Apprehension Of Michigan Driver
Press Release
ANGOLA — Shortly before 3 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 24, troopers from the Indiana State Police Fort Wayne Post were requested to assist the Williams County Sheriff’s Department with a high-speed police pursuit coming into Indiana out of Williams County, Ohio.
Williams County deputies had apparently attempted to stop a 1993 Cadillac El Dorado passenger car operating with no tail lights, matching the description of a vehicle possibly involved in an earlier pursuit with the Michigan State Police. While being pursued in Ohio, speeds reached over 100 mph and the occupants were seen throwing items out the windows.
Once the pursuit crossed the state line and entered into Steuben County on Indiana SR 427 near CR 550E, ISP Trooper Alejandro Hernandez became involved. The pursuit continued north on SR 1 then west on Metz Road at continued high rates of speed. Officers from Angola Police Department were able to get ahead of the pursuit and successfully deploy a tire deflation device at the intersection of Metz Road and US 20. Both of the suspect vehicle’s front tires struck the deflation device. The lead Ohio deputy’s vehicle also struck the deflation device, rending that police vehicle disabled.
The suspect vehicle continued west on US 20 with shredded front tires, eventually entering into the city of Angola, where ISP Trooper Ben Walker took over the pursuit. The suspect vehicle failed to negotiate the curves at the circle monument in downtown Angola and crashed into a large concrete planter. The suspect driver, later identified as Kyle David Eichler, 22, Adrian Mich., fled the scene on foot. Trooper Walker was able to apprehend Eichler at the intersection of Gilmore and Wayne Streets after a short foot chase without further use of force.
The two passengers in Eichler’s vehicle, Cheyenne Leigh Huntington, 20, Three Rivers, Mich.; and Hezekiah William Hall, 19, Tecumseh, Mich., were taken into custody by Trooper Hernandez as they attempted to exit the vehicle. Both sustained injuries as a result of the crash and were taken to Cameron Hospital in Angola for treatment. Huntington was later flown to Parkview Regional Medical Center in Fort Wayne. Both passengers’ medical conditions, although not life-threatening, are unknown at this time.
After a medical evaluation at Cameron Hospital, Eichler was taken to the Steuben County Jail, where he was booked on several felony and misdemeanor charges, including three outstanding arrest warrants. Huntington and Hall are not being charged at this time.
Richler’s charges from this incident include two counts of resisting law enforcement, reckless driving, leaving the scene of a personal injury crash and failure to identify.
Trooper Hernandez and Trooper Walker were assisted in this incident by the Williams County Sheriff’s Department (Ohio), Angola Police Department, Steuben County Sheriff’s Department, Ashley Police Department, Cameron Hospital medical personnel and Bill’s Towing Service.