This car caught fire in a cornfield after a chase. (KFVD photo)
A high-speed chase Wednesday afternoon through Webster and into Calhoun County ended in a cornfield with an arrest and a car in flames.
Iowa State Patrol Trooper Paul Gardner says it started when Archester Rodgers of Minnesota was clocked driving at 95 miles-an-hour on Highway 20 east.
“The traffic stop was attempted and the driver made a U-turn to proceed back westbound on highway 20. At that point the chase was on,” Gardner says. “A trooper at one time used a pit maneuver to end the pursuit that directed the vehicle into the ditch.”
Gardner says it wasn’t the end of Rodgers’ attempt to get away. “He was still somewhat mobile, but then when he tried to drive through a cornfield, that’s when his car started on fire and became fully engulfed,” he says.
Trooper Gardner says Rodgers is being held in the Webster County jail on active warrants out of Minnesota. He did not have an active driver’s license, and was charged with
eluding, possession of a controlled substance, and some traffic charges related to the pursuit. No one was hurt during the pursuit.
(By Brooke Bickford, KFVD, Fort Dodge)