15-Year-Old Leads Baxter Police on High-Speed Chase

Baxter Police arrested a 15-year-old early Monday morning following a high-speed chase.

Authorities arrested the juvenile on multiple charges including reckless endangerment, evading arrest, improper passing, leaving the scene of an accident, and driving without a license.

According to a press release, a vehicle driving at a high rate of speed passed Officer Tory Womack on Highway 56 around 1 a.m. The vehicle went into oncoming traffic running another driver off the roadway.

Refusing to stop for police, the driver turned onto Buffalo Valley Road toward Cookeville and accelerated. Womack reported speeds of over 100 miles per hour.

The chase continued onto Rose Garden Lane where the vehicle crashed into an embankment and trees. The driver continued down the road, eventually crashing into a tree and a parked vehicle.

Authorities report the driver exited the vehicle and jumped a fence into a field. The Putnam County Sheriff’s Department assisted in locating the driver with k-9 officers.

The release indicates that Officer Womack received a call just after 6 a.m. notifying him that the juvenile returned home. Authorities booked the juvenile into the Putnam County Juvenile Detention Center.