A man was life-flighted from a scene of a crash following a high speed chase in rural Fulton County.
According to a press release from the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office, deputies were dispatched at around 11:04 p.m. Saturday on a report of a suspect stolen vehicle in the area of Smithfield, Illinois. Deputies responding to the area encountered the suspect vehicle on County 2 highway, near the intersection of Round Barn Road.
The press release says that, as deputies approached the vehicle, the drier, identified as Dalton K. Chasteen, entered the vehicle and fled north on County 2 at a high rate of speed. The release says that speeds exceeded 100 miles-per-hour as the vehicle passed through Smithfield on Main Street.
The vehicle continued north bound on County 2, failing to stop at the intersection with Illinois 95. At that intersection, an east bound truck on 95 struck the driver’s side of the suspect vehicle, causing it to spin and come to a rest on the north side of highway 95. Chasteen was ejected from the vehicle.
Chasteen was transported via Life Flight to OSF Peoria in critical condition. His current condition are unknown at this time. The occupants of the second vehicle were transported to Graham Hospital in Canton with minor injuries.
The release noted that Chasteen is being charged with Theft of a Motor Vehicle, Possession of a Stolen Vehicle, Driving Under the Influence, Driving Suspended, Aggravated Fleeing and Eluding Police, as well as multiple traffic violations and outstanding warrants for motor vehicle thefts.
Assisting the sheriff’s department were the Illinois State Police, Smithfield Fire Department, Fulton County EMS, Cass-Putman Rescue, OSF Life Flight, and Lewistown Police Department.
