Finks

An Altoona man has been charged with four felony counts after allegedly leading deputies from Marshall and Tama counties on a high speed chase along Highway 30 that ended at the Meskwaki Travel Plaza on Wednesday night.

According to an MCSO press release, at 11:43 p.m., a Marshall County deputy checked the speed of a red Chevrolet Colorado traveling eastbound at mile marker 193, clocking the vehicle at 99 miles per hour in a 65 zone. As the deputy initiated a traffic stop, the driver began fleeing eastbound on Highway 30 entering Tama County.

The driver attempted to elude deputies as the vehicle traveled through the center median several times on Highway 30, turning southbound on Tama County T47 through Montour. Tama County deputies and the Tama Police Department began to assist as the pursuit continued on gravel roads south of Montour that entered a farm field, causing grass to ignite.

The vehicle was able to exit the field through a ditch embankment, re-entering Marshall County on 310th Street, where Marshall County Deputies were able to deploy stop sticks, deflating a tire on the vehicle.

The driver of the vehicle continued to flee northbound on Yates Avenue through a rural farm residence in the 3000 mile of Yates Avenue. The vehicle exited the property, continuing south to 320th Street then northbound on Zeller Avenue.

The vehicle entered a second rural property in the 3100 mile of Zeller Avenue before it turned around and struck a Tama County Sheriff’s Office patrol vehicle and a Tama Police Department patrol vehicle as the driver fled the area through the driveway, continuing northbound on Zeller Avenue.

The vehicle turned eastbound on Highway 30 entering Tama County. Due to the vehicle’s passenger side wheel on the rim, it began to emit a large amount of sparks, causing a grass fire near the Iowa River Bridge in Tama County. The vehicle was stopped at the Meskwaki Travel Plaza, where the driver, 48-year-old Jeremy Finks of Altoona, was taken into custody without further incident.

Finks was charged with the following offenses: Eluding 25+ over the speed limit (a Class D felony), two count of second degree criminal mischief, each a Class D felony, assault on a peace officer with a deadly weapon, a Class D felony, OWI first offense, a serious misdemeanor, excessive speed — 21 or more over posted limit and two counts of failure to obey a stop sign.

At presstime, he was being held in the Marshall County Jail on a $40,000 bond. The incident remains under investigation as the red Chevrolet Colorado was reported stolen out of Polk County earlier in the evening.

The MCSO was assisted by Tama County Sheriff’s Office, the Tama Police Department, the Poweshiek County Sheriff’s Office, and the Marshall County Communications Center.