I-76 pursuit ends with arrest of man also sought in Adams County incident

An Aurora man was arrested Sunday after leading local law enforcement on a high speed chase along Interstate 76.

The Morgan County Sheriff’s Office reported in a Facebook post that a call came in at about 10:25 a.m. Sunday of a possible drunk driver that had sideswiped a white BMW at mile marker 61 on eastbound I-76. According to the caller, the vehicle was weaving across both lanes of traffic. Sheriff Dave Martin, who was off duty but heard the call on his radio, responded and started watching for the vehicle at mile marker 86.

Martin spotted the vehicle at 10:42 a.m. and began following. After it changed from lane to lane, Martin turned on his emergency lights to try to make a traffic stop. The vehicle slowed and took exit 89, the Hospital Road exit, stopping at the bottom of the ramp but then going back up onto I-76 continuing east.

According to the MCSO post, Martin continued to pursue the vehicle as it traveled eastbound, exited at exit 95 and went under the overpass to get back onto I-76 westbound.

“The vehicle accelerated to speeds of 109 mph,” the post states. “Deputy Bruntz and Deputy Paxton had set up at MM-92 west bound with stop sticks. When the vehicle reached that point the stop sticks were pulled in front of the vehicle. The vehicle hit the stop sticks and continued driving west bound. Sergeant Skiles was also set up near MM90 with stop sticks. When the vehicle reached his location he pulled the stop sticks in front of the vehicle and the vehicle again hit the stop sticks. The suspect continued driving west bound with three flat tires. The speeds had been reduced to about 45 MPH.”

Martin then used a PIT (pursuit intervention technique) maneuver that caused the vehicle to spin out of control and brought the pursuit to an end. The vehicle came to a stop in the median facing east. The driver, identified as Angel Arreola-Ojendis, 21, of Aurora, complied with law enforcement orders and was taken into custody, after which it was discovered that he’d been involved in another pursuit in Adams County earlier in the day.

In that incident, the MCSO reported, the pursuit had been terminated but officers later found the vehicle at a gas station and tried to box it in. The driver drove over a cement curb and across a grass lawn at the station, driving directly at an Adams County Sheriff’s Deputy, to elude capture. The deputy was able to move out of the way and was unharmed. Adams County lost the vehicle near Bennett on Highway 79.

Arreola-Ojendis was transported to the Morgan County Jail and held on the charges of  vehicular eluding, reckless driving, reckless endangerment, driving under the influence, and violating restrictions on driver’s license. He faces additional charges in Adams County for that incident.