A Leitchfield man is facing over 20 charges after leading multiple police agencies on a chase that passed through three counties.
The incident began on the night of March 12 at approximately 10:30 when a Leitchfield police officer spotted a Ford F-250 with an illegible license plate traveling on the Town Square in Leitchfield.
The officer followed the vehicle as the Ford, according to the arrest citation, began “picking up speed” in front of Center Court in the 1400 block of Brandenburg Road. The Ford, according to the citation, nearly struck a slowed vehicle as it continued north on Brandenburg.
The officer activated lights and sirens, “and almost immediately (the driver) threw what appeared to be an aluminum can out of the window,” according to the citation.
During the next 30 minutes, the Ford, being driven by 35-year-old Chad A. Clemons, fled at speeds fluctuating between “50 and 90 miles per hour turning down numerous roads, taking me into Breckinridge, then Hardin County.
Once the pursuit reached Dry Ridge Road, near Eastview in Hardin County, the pursuing Leitchfield officer was instructed by a supervisor to end the chase.
Kentucky State Police, which had been advised of the pursuit, arrived in the area where the chase was terminated, as the Ford continued fleeing on Sonora Hardin Springs Road (Hwy 84) toward Leitchfield Road (Hwy 62).
As a trooper made contact with the Ford, a Hardin County Deputy attempted a traffic stop, but Clemons fled west on Leitchfield Road. The vehicle fled police at speeds reaching 88 miles per hour, as the Ford traveled in both lanes of the roadway.
The chase entered Big Clifty, where the Ford turned onto Bank Street.
The Ford then “made a left turn at a high rate of speed, driving off of the roadway and across a gravel lot to Hardin Springs Rd.,” the state police citation states.
The pursuit continued on Hardin Springs Road, then onto Dry Ridge Road and Miller Lane, where Clemons nearly struck a vehicle at a high rate of speed.
The truck then left Miller Lane and traveled onto a gravel road “until the road no longer existed,” the citation says. Clemons continued fleeing into a field before coming to a stop “near the woodline on the western edge of the field.”
When police arrived at the stopped Ford, the truck was empty. Inside the vehicle police found a Probation and Parole document for Chad Clemons.
The Vine Grove Police Department arrived at the scene with a thermal drone, according to the citation, leading to Clemons being found “laying on his side in a thicket several hundred yards away from the vehicle.”
He was taken into custody without further incident.
Clemons was arrested and charged with two counts of wanton endangerment of a police officer, first-degree wanton endangerment, two counts of fleeing or evading police, DUI, two counts of reckless driving, driving on suspended/revoked operator’s license, failure to wear seat belts, disregarding a stop sign, possession of marijuana, failure to or improper signal, license plate not legible, criminal littering, driving on a DUI suspended license, and persistent felony offender. He was also served with parole violation warrant.
Clemons, according to the Kentucky Department of Corrections, was convicted in Grayson County in April 2023 for third-degree burglary and fleeing or evading police. In July 2022, he was convicted in Grayson County on two counts of possession of a controlled substance (methamphetamine, LSD). In March 2022, Clemons was convicted in Grayson County for possession of a controlled substance (methamphetamine).
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com
