Google Street View car leads Ind. police on 100 mph pursuit, crashes into creek

Jun 15, 2023

Police caught up with the driver after he lost control and got stuck in a creek; the driver told police that he "worked for Google and was scared to stop"

By Mitchell WillettsThe Charlotte Observer

MIDDLETOWN, Ind. — A Google Street View vehicle led Indiana police on a high-speed chase before slamming into a muddy creek, authorities say.

The pursuit began at about 5 p.m. on July 31, when Middletown Police Department Chief Landon Dean spotted “a small vehicle” speeding past other motorists near a high school, barreling west on U.S. Interstate 36, the department said in an Aug. 1 news release.

The vehicle looked unusual, with a tall piece of equipment anchored to the roof, stretching into the air, with cameras mounted to it, photos show.

It was a Google Street View car and it was moving at more than 100 mph, the department said.

“As the Vehicle passed by it was identified by Dean as a Google Mapping car with several 360-degree cameras mounted on a tall antenna on top of the car,” the release said.

Though the car hadn’t slowed down, Dean managed to catch up as the driver continued speeding past other vehicles, according to police, but “the Google vehicle refused to stop.”

Dean kept pursuing the car several miles into a neighboring county, the department said. The driver slowed down before a red light at an intersection, but then kept going, police said.

The pursuit continued to the edge of Pendleton — a town roughly 12 miles west of where the pursuit started — when the driver tried to turn east to avoid a closed bridge, according to the release.

At that point, the driver “lost control and drove through a yard and then into a creek where it became stuck,” the department said.

Police took the driver into custody and he told officers “that he worked for Google and was scared to stop,” the release said, adding that his driver’s license identified him as a Florida resident.

He was arrested and booked into the Henry County Jail on a charge of resisting law enforcement with a vehicle, police said.

Google is aware of the incident, a spokesperson told McClatchy News in an email.

“We partner with contractors to drive and collect imagery,” the spokesperson said. “We take the safety of our Street View operations very seriously, and we’re committed to working with the contracted company and local authorities to ensure the proper actions are taken to address this situation.”

Middletown is roughly 50 miles northeast of downtown Indianapolis.

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