COLUMBIA COUNTY, Wis. (WFRV) – Several arrests were made in Columbia County over Labor Day weekend as part of the “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign, including one traffic stop where a driver was clocked at 136 miles per hour.
The first incident happened on Aug. 30, shortly before 7 p.m., when a deputy attempted to stop a motorcycle with no registration plates. The motorcycle briefly slowed before fleeing at a high rate of speed. Deputies say the investigation is ongoing and charges are expected.
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The second pursuit happened Aug. 31 just after 1:30 a.m. on Interstate 90/94 westbound near the 114 mile marker. Deputies reported a vehicle traveling at 136 mph. After briefly slowing, the driver fled at even higher speeds before being stopped with a tire deflation device. The driver, identified as 18-year-old Benjamin Essien of Chicago, was arrested.
The third pursuit occurred a few hours later on Aug. 31, shortly after 4 a.m., on State Highway 60 near McCully Road in Lodi. The fleeing vehicle crashed near Pulvermacher Road and ended up in a cornfield. The driver, a juvenile, and another juvenile passenger were not named. An adult passenger, 18-year-old Laila Ruddy of Reedsburg, was arrested.
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Deputies also responded to several impaired driving incidents, including a crash on County Highway V near Tipperary Road where a driver hit a parked truck. A fisherman in the area narrowly avoided injury. The driver, identified as 21-year-old Anna Ganser of Prairie du Sac, was arrested for impaired driving.
“The Columbia County Sheriff’s Office has a zero-tolerance policy on impaired driving,” the department said in a statement. “If you drive impaired, you will get pulled over, and you will go to jail, every time.”
