| A police chase through Calhoun ended yesterday about noon when the youthful
driver lost control and plunged into Spring Creek near the Spencer city limits.
The driver, described as a 15-year-old male, failed to negotiate a sharp turn on US
119 near Washington Park in Spencer near the junction of State Route 36.
A nearby resident told the Herald the 1999 Camero, which had Ohio plates,
crashed through a fence and sank on its top in the rain-swollen creek. It then
floated downstream about eighty feet.
The witness said the youth clipped a tree before landing in the stream, saying
"He is lucky to get out of this alive."
The t-top flew off and "The car was full of duffel bags," they said.
Witnesses at the scene said five or six officers immediately handcuffed the youth
when he got to the creek bank and sent him to Roane General Hospital for
evaluation. He was later taken to magistrate court.
A store owner on Arnoldsburg Road, who had been listening to the chase on the
scanner, said "He flew by here."
Sr. Trooper Jeff Hunt of the Grantsville Detachment chased the youth south on
Route 16 across the Mt. Zion Ridge, reporting he was driving erratically.
When the youth arrived at Arnoldsburg, he continued on U. S. 33-119 toward
Spencer.
Trooper Hunt, at various times reported he was slowing the chase, but witnesses
said the driver did reach some high speeds.
Sources said he also struck a vehicle in Spencer during the chase.
State Police could not be reached last night to confirm the origin of the chase,
but one report said he youth came from Ritchie County.
Rumors surfaced why the youth was being chased, but the cause was not
confirmed.
Marks Towing said the vehicle was a total loss.
| 
