Chipley fugitive arrested after short pursuit

(SCOTTSBLUFF, NE)- A pursuit of a stolen vehicle on Interstate 80 in Kimball County, Nebraska, led to the arrest of a Chipley man wanted on a criminal warrant. The information was provided by the Nebraska State Patrol.

Around 2:30 p.m. (MST), Thursday, July 23, a trooper with the Nebraska State Patrol Troop E Headquarters- Scottsbluff, attempted a traffic stop of a red Toyota Camry, about five miles (Mile Marker 25), east of Kimball, Neb., on westbound Interstate 80. The vehicle failed to stop and sped off at a high rate of speed. The trooper initiated a pursuit. 



Both passenger side tires of the vehicle were flattened near Mile Marker 21, when another trooper who was in the area laid stop sticks on the road. The driver lost control of the car near Mile Marker 17. The vehicle went off the north side of the Interstate, rolled at least twice down a steep embankment, and went through a barbed wire fence, before landing upright.

The driver of the vehicle identified as Manual Ramirez, 62, of Chipley, was taken by ambulance to the Kimball Hospital, where he was treated and released. He was lodged in the Kimball County Jail on local charges of possession of a stolen vehicle, flight to avoid arrest, reckless driving, and speeding.

The NSP reported that Ramirez is wanted in Florida on a stolen vehicle charge as well as violation of probation on an aggravated assault with a weapon charge. He will be extradited to Florida, according to a news release.

The pursuit reached speeds over 100 mph, covered roughly eight miles and lasted less than five minutes.

Nebraska State Patrol Spokesperson Deb Collins said that Ramirez rented his vehicle at the Panama City airport. Chipley Police Department Spokesperson Marsha Sherrouse said the charges on Ramirez are out of Bay County, although the suspect lived in Chipley.