A drunk driver who led Van Buren County lawmen on a high-speed chase, ramming one of his pursuers before being stopped in Warren County, will serve 90 days behind bars.
Cody Wayne Wood, 22, of Doyle entered guilty pleas before Circuit Court Judge Bart Stanley to charges of evading arrest, reckless endangerment and DUI. He was ordered to serve 90 days of a three-year sentence, perform 24 hours public service work, lose his driver license for a year and pay $350 plus costs.
Wood was arrested following a wild chase that began in Van Buren County when officers tried to pull his GMC Sierra over for a minor traffic violation. Wood opted not to cooperate, leading lawmen on a 15-mile chase that spilled onto Highway 70 and then onto Highway 30 in Warren County.
“He was weaving in and out of traffic,” said Highway Patrolman Tony Myers. “He was also passing other motorists in the emergency lane of Highway 70. He was engaging in conduct that put the motoring public in imminent danger of death or serious bodily harm.”
The pursuing units were able to spin out the fugitive, but that did not deter his attempt to get away.
“After being spun around, he tried to flee at deputies and crashed head-on into deputy Shane Ballew,” the trooper revealed. “After crashing into the deputy, he continued accelerating to push the deputy out of the way.”
When he was caught a short time later, lawmen discovered he was under the influence of hydrocodone and Xanax.