A pursuit ended with an arrest and recovery of a stolen pickup.

Just before 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday Indiana State Police Trooper Alaina Thomen was patrolling Interstate 74. The trooper stopped a 2017 Ford F-150 on the eastbound exit ramp from Interstate 74 to State Road 25 for traveling in excess of 100 mph. The driver of the F-150 was later identified as Keshawn Cotton, 18, of Danville, Illinois. As Trooper Thomen approached the F-150, Cotton fled at a high rate of speed. The trooper pursued the F-150 southbound on State Road 25 before losing sight of it near Union Street in Waynetown.

Shortly after, dispatch received a phone call that a vehicle matching the description of the F-150 was at the intersection of Union Street and Centerville Road in Waynetown. Officers quickly converged in the area and located the F-150, which had crashed into a tree and was abandoned. Officers on the scene set up a perimeter and later located Cotton who was safely taken into custody and transported to the Montgomery County Jail.

Further investigation revealed Cotton provided a false name, and the F-150 was reported stolen from Chicago.

Cotton is charged with:

Resisting Law Enforcement with a Vehicle – Level 6 Felony

Theft of a Vehicle – Level 6 Felony

False Informing – Class A Misdemeanor

False Identifying Statement – Class A Misdemeanor

Leaving the Scene of a Property Damage Crash – Class B Misdemeanor

Reckless Driving – Class C Misdemeanor

Trooper Thomen was assisted by Troopers from the Lafayette Post, Indiana State Police CSI, Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, Fountain County Sheriff's Office, Crawfordsville Police Department, and Froedges Towing.