A man ended up in police custody after crashing his vehicle into a ditch while fleeing police officers in Freeport, Illinois. The incident played out on Tuesday evening, May 19, as stated in the accident reports.

The chase began at about 4 p.m. when Freeport police officers on the lookout for a maroon Chevrolet Impala with Florida plates spotted one that fit the description. According to the reports, the motorist was engaged in an earlier incident on S. State Avenue and Winslow Street, where one of three men brandished a handgun.

Officers spotted the car, which had Florida plates at a search point on northbound IL Route 26. As lawmen approached the Chevrolet, the driver accelerated northbound, with officers on his trail. Steven County sheriff’s deputies joined the chase minutes later near Winneshiek.

The suspect continued his flight southbound on US Route 20, into the Village of Winnebago, driving erratically at speeds above 120 mph. Deputies terminated the chase for safety reasons.

Barely minutes later, however, while speeding through Calvary Cemetery, the man crashed into a ditch, disabling the vehicle. Officers responded to this crash and found the driver and his two passengers. Police recovered a 9 mm pistol near the site of the crash, the accident reports affirmed.

Following his arrest, authorities identified him as Norman Brown, 32, of Chicago. They booked him on charges of aggravated fleeing.  Brown also had an outstanding warrant in Freeport, as per jail records.

Authorities released his two passengers, aged 16 and 17, to relatives.

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