OSHP chases wrong-way driver on US 30

Van Wert independent/OSHP information

It was a miracle that an Indiana driver chased by troopers at high speeds Saturday down the wrong side of U.S. 30 didn’t kill or hurt someone.

The Van Wert Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol pursued a wrong-way driver who drove from Indiana into Ohio on U.S. 30 using the westbound lanes on Saturday.

The Patrol received a call at 5:05 p.m. Saturday reporting a wrong-way driver crossing into Ohio from Indiana. Officers were dispatched and found the vehicle headed east in the westbound lanes near Ohio 49 north of Convoy. Officers attempted to stop the driver but he continued to drive eastward at speeds approaching 100 miles per hour at times.

The officers continued to pursue a 2009 Chevrolet Cobalt driven by Kevin Coffee, 44, of Fort Wayne, Ind., and attempted to pull him over. After several attempts with no success, officers deployed Stop Sticks, a tire-deflating device, and were able to get the Fort Wayne man stopped safely near U.S. 127 on the north side of Van Wert.

Coffee had driven in the wrong lane for more than 12 miles before he was stopped. After he was finally stopped, Brickner Ambulance Service transported Coffee to Van Wert County Hospital for treatment and observation.

The Van Wert Police Department and Van Wert County Sheriff’s Department assisted the Patrol. Alcohol was not a factor and luckily there were no crashes stemming from the chase.

The incident is still under investigation.