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Police: Man tosses items from truck during high-speed chase

PERU, Ind. (WISH) – Two men were arrested this week after leading officers in Peru on a high speed chase.

Wednesday morning, police responded to the 600 block of Oak Street on the report of an attempted theft of an ATV. Officers were told the suspects took off in a pickup truck.

A Peru officer saw the vehicle, which police say then began racing down the road. The pursuit got to the Miami/Cass county line, before the suspect vehicle turned back. Police say a passenger in the vehicle climbed into the bed of the truck and started throwing items into the road, 24-Hour News 8’s news partners at The Kokomo Tribune report.

Police say during the chase, the driver blew a stop sign, lost control and hit a guardrail. A male passenger, identified as Wesley C. Southwick, 27, hopped out of the truck and fled to a wooded area, where he was later apprehended.

Police say the driver of the truck, identified as Jack G. Southwick, 26, got out of the truck and tried to hijack a car that stopped to help in the crash. He was later taken into custody.

Both men were transported to local hospitals to be treated for their injuries. Jack Southwick was preliminarily charged with burglary, theft, possession of meth, resisting law enforcement with a vehicle, resisting law enforcement, operating while intoxicated endangering a person and possession of paraphernalia. Charges against Wesley Southwick are pending.

Officers later found two weapons in the vehicle. Police said they think the guns came from a separate burglary in Cass County.

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