Deputies: Stolen car clocked at 120 mph in chase before Wichita crash

WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) -- A man is in custody after authorities say he crashed a stolen car following a brief pursuit east of Wichita. The Butler County Sheriff's Office said the chase began west of Augusta around 5:40 a.m. Wednesday. A deputy spotted a Kia heading west on U.S. Highway 54 near Santa Fe Lake Road at 90 mph, the sheriff office said. The deputy attempted a traffic stop, but authorities said the driver fled. As the deputy pursued the vehicle, the sheriff's office said the Kia reached speeds over 120 mph and drove through two red lights in Andover. The deputy called off the pursuit but moments later learned there had been a crash at 143rd Street East and Kellogg Avenue. The driver of the Kia had sideswiped one vehicle and crashed into another at the intersection before running away, according to the sheriff's office. With help from a Wichita Police Department drone, a Butler County K9 team, the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office and Andover police, the 30-year-old suspect was found hiding in a nearby tree row and taken into custody. The rural El Dorado man was booked into the Butler County Jail, awaiting potential charges of felony fleeing and eluding, interference with a law enforcement officer, reckless aggravated battery, felony theft, reckless driving, and other traffic charges. The sheriff's office said the man also has outstanding warrants in another jurisdiction. Court records show the man is wanted on a Johnson County warrant for failing to appear in a burglary and theft case. The car turned out to have been stolen from El Dorado, according to deputies, but the crime had yet to be reported.