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By Sgt. Carey Huls, Indiana State Police Public Information Officer, Sellersburg District
A Michigan driver was arrested following a brief pursuit on I-65 southbound in Scott County early Wednesday morning.
The incident began shortly after 4 a.m., Wednesday, Oct. 2, when the Indiana State Police Dispatch center in Versailles received information of a dark-colored passenger car speeding southbound near the 45 mile marker south of Seymour. The caller advised the vehicle was speeding and had no headlights or taillights on.
Sergeant Tracy Spencer from the Indiana State Police Post in Sellersburg responded to the area and observed the car traveling southbound near the 35 mile marker. The vehicle, a blue 2015 Ford Focus, quickly approached from the north, and Sergeant Spencer clocked the vehicle at 118 mph. The car had only its emergency flashers illuminated at that time and was in the left lane. When Sergeant Spencer pulled out to stop the Focus, the driver, later identified as 55-year-old Joseph Lee Strain of Hudsonville, Michigan, continued southbound without slowing. Sergeant Spencer witnessed the vehicle passing other traffic and pass two semi-trucks on the right by driving in the emergency lane and the Austin exit on-ramp merge lane. Strain then allegedly turned off the vehicle's emergency flashers, and the Focus continued southbound without slowing and with no lights illuminated.
As the car approached the 32 mile marker, the vehicle's lights came on and the driver slowly pulled to the side of the roadway and came to a stop. Joseph Strain was taken into custody without further incident and taken to the Scott County Jail.
Sergeant Spencer was assisted by officers from the Scott County Sheriff's Department and the Scottsburg City Police Department.
Joseph Strain is charged with Resisting Law Enforcement with a Vehicle- Level 6 Felony, Reckless Driving – C Misdemeanor, Possession of Marijuana – A Misdemeanor, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia – C Misdemeanor, and Maintaining a Common Nuisance – A Misdemeanor.