Man arrested following Interstate chase
Published 3:19 pm Sunday, August 29, 2010
A 42-year-old Hueytown man faces several charges, including attempted murder, following a Saturday afternoon chase on Interstate 65.
Harold David Dempsey reportedly refused to stop when a state trooper attempted to pull his gold Chevrolet Malibu over for speeding in Autauga County around 4:41 p.m. Saturday.
Troopers set spike strips at the 174-mile marker, but when Dempsey got that far south, he turned around and began traveling north in the southbound lanes of I-65, according to troopers. He continued traveling in the wrong direction for approximately 20 miles at speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour, officials said.
The Chilton County Sheriff’s Department successfully deployed spike strips at the 197-mile mile marker, about a mile before the Autauga-Chilton county line, where the chase ended and Dempsey was taken into custody.
“We shut down the interstate at the county line,” said Sheriff Kevin Davis, who said his department’s goal “was to stop him before he got into our county.”
Dempsey initially faced charges of DUI, reckless driving, reckless endangerment, attempting to elude and driving with a revoked license. Troopers have since served Dempsey 13 attempted murder and 13 reckless endangerment warrants, stemming from his driving in Autauga County.
Authorities continue to investigate the incident.