Lexington man leads police on wild vehicle chase, throws meth out of car near school
A man from Lexington is facing over a dozen criminal charges after leading police on a wild police chase around Powell County, according to court documents.
The chase began at approximately 1:30 a.m. Friday at the intersection of Ninth Street and Main Street in Clay City, according to an arrest citation. Officers were conducting a traffic stop with William Bowman, 28, when he took off as officers exited their vehicle.
Early in the chase, Bowman threw an unknown substance out of his vehicle near Clay City Elementary School, per court records. The substance, which Bowman later admitted to being methamphetamine, was described by police as small rocks and hit one of the officer’s patrol vehicles.
Bowman then made his way towards Mountain Parkway. According to the arrest citation, while Bowman turned onto the westbound on-ramp at mile-marker 16, the vehicle came to an abrupt stop and a woman jumped out of the passenger side of the vehicle.
Bowman continued onto the Mountain Parkway, hitting speeds of over 115 miles per hour, court documents say. Two miles down the road, Bowman crossed the median and began traveling west in the eastbound lanes.
An arrest citation says Bowman traveled 14 miles going in the wrong direction and nearly hit seven vehicles.
When Bowman reached the end of Mountain Parkway where it enters I-64, he made a sudden u-turn in the middle of the interstate and began traveling eastbound, according to court records. Once back on the parkway, Bowman again crossed the median and traveled east in the westbound lanes for approximately 15 miles.
At mile-marker 16, Bowman got off the roadway going the wrong way up the on-ramp and began traveling on Main Street. Court records say the pursuit lasted over several more streets until Bowman barricaded himself in front of IGA, ending the chase.
After being detained, Bowman said he took off during the traffic stop because he was scared and admitted to throwing meth out of the vehicle during the pursuit, according to court records. He also had an active bench warrant out of Scott County District Court.
Bowman was charged with the following:
Scott County bench warrant
speeding 26mph or > (limited access)
fleeing or evading police, 1st deg (motor vehicle)
wanton endangerment 1st deg, police officer x6
wanton endangerment 1st degree
reckless driving
tampering with physical evidence
improper turn - drive/lane - enter limited access hwy
operating on suspended or revoked license
no registration plates
no registration receipt
failure of owner to maintain req ins/sec 1st
resisting arrest
disregarding stop sign
failure to wear seat belts
excessive windshield/window tinting
improper passing
failure to or improper signal
