Stephen Ledgerwood, 25, North Webster, is in the Miami County Jail on preliminary charges of operating a vehicle while intoxicated (narcotic), participating in a speed contest, and auto theft. He was arrested after police clocked his vehicle traveling 111 miles per hour on US 24 Thursday evening.
Indiana State Trooper Steven Glass and officers from the Miami County Sheriff’s Department initiated a traffic stop at approximately 11:30 p.m. Thursday on a 2010 Chevrolet Impala and silver Ford Mustang on US 24 near Paw Pike, in Miami County. Glass had clocked, with radar, both vehicles traveling 111 miles per hour in a 60 mile per hour zone.
When officers activated the emergency lighting on their police vehicles to make traffic stops on the Impala and the Mustang; the Impala, driven by Stephen Ledgerwood, 25, North Webster, pulled over. Glass stopped with the Impala. The driver of the Mustang did not stop and led officers from the Miami County Sheriff’s Department on a pursuit. Due to reckless manner in which the Mustang was being driven and the fact that the initial stopping charge was a traffic infraction, officers terminated the pursuit.
Further investigation revealed that Ledgerwood was allegedly racing the driver of the Mustang. Glass also obtained probable cause that Ledgerwood was driving while under the influence of a narcotic. The Impala had a fictitious license plate which had been reported as stolen from Elkhart. Ledgerwood was purportedly not able to provide information on the ownership of the Impala, nor how he obtained possession of the vehicle.
This is an ongoing investigation. If anyone has information on the driver of the silver Mustang, they are encouraged to contact the Miami County Sheriff’s Department at (765) 472-1322.