Police chase ends with car, crop on fire

GIBSONBURG — A Woodville man was arrested after leading police on a chase that ended early Friday morning after he drove into a cornfield and his pickup truck and nearby crops caught fire, police said.

Jacky Skaggs, 43, of Woodville, faces felony charges of fleeing from police and criminal damage after driving the truck into a cornfield on Sandusky County Road 93 after ignoring police orders to pull over for running a stop sign at Ohio 600 and County Road 42.

The report said Skaggs failed to pull over and continued driving at speeds up to 100 mph, running two more stop signs as he left the village.

According to Gibsonburg police, Skaggs failed to stop at a stop sign and was driving 80 in a 55 mph zone when police ordered him to pull over at 1:12 a.m. Friday. After being pursued for nearly five miles, Skaggs made a sharp turn into a cornfield at the intersection of County Roads 42 and 93, in an apparent effort to evade police, who did not follow him into the cornfield.

Gibsonburg Police Chief Paul Whitaker said it is not uncommon for drivers fleeing from law enforcement to enter cornfields to try to get away.

Whitaker said the cause of the fire is still under investigation, but that the dry crops may have ignited because of heat from the vehicle.

"The fire was probably caused by underbody damage and the extreme heat from the catalytic converter combusting the dry corn," Whitaker said.

After entering the field and coming to a stop four-tenths of a mile later, Skaggs exited the vehicle and was later arrested with help from the Woodville Police Department's K-9 unit.

There were no injuries reported and the fire was extinguished. Skaggs was booked into the Sandusky County Jail and is being held on bond of $12,500.

Skaggs was convicted twice in 2003 of driving under the influence, was convicted of fleeing in 2003, and pleaded guilty to operating a vehicle while intoxicated in 2014.

In addition to Woodville police, Gibsonburg police were assisted by the Sandusky County Sheriff's Office and the Ohio Highway Patrol.

cshoup@gannett.com

419-334-1035

Twitter: CraigShoupNH