By Shereen Siewert
WAUSAU — A 49-year-old Marshfield man already out on bond for a 5th offense OWI charge was arrested Monday after a high speed chase that spanned more than 20 miles in two central Wisconsin counties.
Kyle Wendt faces felony charges filed Tuesday in Marathon County Circuit Court of 5th or 6th offense OWI, knowingly fleeing an officer and bail jumping.
In the most recent case, police say the pursuit began just before 9:30 p.m. Monday in the village of Spencer after an officer ran the license plate of Wendt’s vehicle and attempted to pull him over on suspicion of driving with a suspended license. Wendt allegedly refused to stop and was driving at speeds of nearly 95 mph when police called off the chase for safety reasons, but Clark County deputies were waiting for Wendt and used stop sticks to slow him down, according to court documents. After driving over the stop sticks, Wendt then continued driving with two flat tires until his vehicle came to a stop on S. Main Street in the Clark County city of Greenwood, police said.
At one point during the chase, Wendt allegedly passed another vehicle and nearly crashed into the ditch.
Once stopped, officers say Wendt refused to comply with their orders and had to be forcibly removed from his vehicle. After allegedly giving a false name and failing field sobriety tests, Wendt was taken to a local hospital for a chemical test of his blood, the results of which are pending.
The final charge — 5th or 6th offense OWI — will depend on the outcome of Wendt’s open 5th offense Wood County case, which was filed in February. Court documents show Wendt was freed from the Wood County Jail Feb. 12 after posting a $2,000 cash bond. He is being held in the Marathon County Jail pending an initial appearance.
