Driver crosses median, drives against traffic during high speed chase

[splitterpfj]

I was in St Paul yesterday, I was just leaving, I had reached Woodbury. A cop flies by me, she means business, she's really moving - I find her again about mile ahead of me, now on the other side of the road, out of her car, with another officer and his car also sitting there. They're watching the westbound lanes, I'm headed east.

 

I can't figure out what they're doing, but they're very intent on something. I get maybe 1/4 mile further, and I see a gray SUV, which had to be going 80-90 MPH, crossing the grassy median, and heading directly at me.

 

I saw him, thank God, if I hadn't, he'd have driven directly into me - I doubt I'd have ever felt that. I swerved right, a semi in the left lane, swerved all the way over and passed me on the shoulder to my right, before swerving all the way back across traffic, into the left lane again.

 

This guy disappeared in my rearview, headed directly through the traffic on the eastbound side.

 

I read online that he got away. They know who he is and where he lives, they even called him on his cell during the chase, trying to get him to stop, to which he replied, "Dude, I can't talk right now, I'm being chased by the police."

 

That's probably the freakiest driving experience I've had to date....somehow I wasn't expecting an SUV to cross the median and drive against traffic on I-94.

[Menotti80]

wow, split. good story.

 

glad to hear you are safe and sound. just think, if you would have been "cell-phone guy", "eating while driving guy", "make-up girl", or the "mom with uncontrollable kids"; you might not be here... http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

[Oldcity]

Holy crap, that's crazy. Glad to hear you're ok. I'd be really shaken up.

[eanelson4]

Yeah, this guy apparently ditched his car 1 block from my apartment building (about 1 or 2 hours before I got home). They haven't found him yet, and when I got home, the police choppers were circling about. One of my roommates called me at work and told me the scoop, so I kept an eye out while I was walking back from the bus stop to my building, but didn't see much. I'm sure he is long gone from my area, but hopefully they catch him soon.

 

Crazy story. Glad to hear you are an alert driver and got out of the way.

[slack00]

just think, if you would have been "cell-phone guy", "eating while driving guy", "make-up girl", or the "mom with uncontrollable kids"; you might not be here... http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

You forgot "iPod-changing while hauling cow intestines guy"

Seriously though, glad to hear you're ok. I imagine it shook you up pretty good.

[molitor fan]

Wow, just hearing about that I am shaken up FOR you. Good job being alert....to me this guy should have charges brought against him that reflect that his negligence was reckless and could have ended in deaths.

[splitterpfj]

When this was happening, I said some bad words. After it had happened, I checked myself for any socially unacceptable odors or markings...all clear.

 

Mr Clevenger, you dirtbag, I hope you get a nice vacation.

 

http://www.startribune.com/local/25800259.html?location_refer=Homepage:latestNews:4

[ccbrew]

Similar thing happened to me about a year ago. It wasn't a high-speed police chase, but a guy was traveling the eastbound directly in the middle of the westbound lanes of I-94 between Johnson's Creek and Lake Mills. Not sure how much further he got after passing me, but some squad cars did go zooming by on the eastbound lanes a minute or so later.

 

To have a car headed straight toward you on the freeway is quite the surreal experience.

[LouisEly]

To have a car headed straight toward you on the freeway is quite the surreal experience.

 

I had that happen once. About 10 years ago just north of Beaver Dam when they were expanding 151 from Beaver Dam to Waupun. The concrete had been laid for the northbound side and it was almost completed but it hadn't opened yet, so traffic was still one lane each way on what is now the southbound side. It was after dark, and the dude probably thought the northbound side was open and was driving in the left hand lane of two lanes going south, but apparently wasn't aware of the YELLOW dashed line between the two lanes (or was colorblind). I soon realized I had a vehicle heading directly at me in the same lane. Laid on the horn, ditched it, and ducked.

 

Fortunately because of the construction the inner shoulder was gravel and hard-packed dirt. So I just pulled back on the highway and continued on. It really is surreal when it is night-time and you suddenly realize the lights facing you are in the same lane.

[TooLiveBrew]

Holy crap, that's crazy. Glad to hear you're ok. I'd be really shaken up.

 

Geez, no kidding. Second that, split. Wow.

 

Clevenger sounds like someone that values his own selfish desires over anything else, so sadly it's not extremely surprising that he valued everyone else's life as discardable. This man needs to be put away for a long time.

[brewcrewman17]

I'll also share my story about a car going the wrong direction. I was driving northbound on I794 just about to go around the bend to turn west after coming across the Hoan Bridge and suddenly a pair of headlights is staring me straight in the face. I suspect he turned up the Milwaukee St. exit ramp thinking it was an entrance ramp. Laid on the horn and pulled as close to the barrier as possible and hoped to not die. Luckily is was about 2 in the morning so there wasn't anyone around and there was space to move away from him. One of the scariest moments of my life though, for sure.

[istanbultaye]

I had a car going the wrong way entering the Fox River Mall from wisconsin ave up here in appleton last year. It wasn't the highway, so not as scary as I'm sure all these highway stories were. I had enough time to see that it was an elderly lady driving the car. Hopefully she isn't driving any more (and has people to take care of her).

[splitterpfj]

If you haven't experienced this, it's just the weirdest feeling. Before you get completely freaked, there's this split second where you have to accept that fact that someone IS coming right at you. It's so out of place, you're just not looking for that, so when you see it, it's like....1. What?...2. Really? 3.

 

In the interest of maintaining the integrity of this online community, I will not fill in number 3.

 

The whole thing happens so fast, I'm sure it's barely perceptible, but that's the sensation, you have to almost convince yourself that it's happening, and then you react with the fastest reflexes of your life!