A vehicle fleeing from police at high speeds ended up in a crash that injured three Rochester men Saturday night.
Sam Gagnon, 20, of Rochester, reportedly was fleeing from police at high speeds around 9:35 p.m. Saturday when his vehicle struck two trees and landed in a river at the end of Brown Lane, Warsaw. Gagnon suffered a broken forearm and a large cut to his left leg, while his passengers, Krystopher Daulton, 20, complained of chest pain and Chris Woodcox, 19, complained of pain to his face, head, nose and ribs after the crash.
According to a report from the Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department, Gagnon reportedly was driving 53 miles per hour in a 35 miles per hour zone near the intersection of Winona Avenue and Logan Street, Warsaw. When police began following Gagnon, he allegedly sped away, trying to evade police.
The chase led police from Winona Avenue to Crystal Lake Road before turning on Brown Lane. There is a gravel turn-around at the end of Brown Lane, and police lost sight of the car there. Shortly thereafter, officers were contacted by the Kosciusko County Dispatch Center with information from ON-STAR that there had been an accident with airbag deployment at the end of Brown Lane.
When officers arrived at the scene of the crash, they found Gagnon's 2006 yellow Chevrolet Cobalt 25 to 35 feet in a river with water over the top of the wheel wells.
Upon further investigation, police saw that the car had hit two trees 8 to 10 feet above the river on a descending bank.
All three men were taken to Kosciusko Community Hospital for treatment.
Police plan to file charges against Gagnon for resisting/fleeing law enforcement, criminal recklessness, reckless driving and speeding.
Information about the incident has been forwarded to the Kosciusko County Prosecutor for review.
