DEKORRA, Wis. — A woman who fell asleep in the backseat of her car in Columbia County woke up to find a stranger driving the vehicle.
On Saturday, Jan. 14, the victim told dispatchers around 3:30 a.m. that the man jumped into the driver's seat after her husband stopped at a truck stop in Dekorra.
The Columbia County Sheriff's Office said the victim reported she didn't know where the man was driving to and was refusing to release her from the car while speeding.
911 calls and squad footage obtained by NBC 15details the police chase that followed.
"I was in a gas station," the victim told the dispatcher. "My husband just (got) out from the car."
Columbia and Sauk county dispatch centers were able to stay in contact with the victim who was providing location information.
Shortly after 4 a.m., a Columbia County deputy saw the vehicle heading westbound on Highway 188 in West Point Township. The driver attempted to elude deputies and Wisconsin State Patrol troopers who pursued the vehicle.
The sheriff's office says tire deflation devices were successfully used and the driver continued to drive until the vehicle lost its tires. The vehicle eventually lost control and stopped in a parking lot. The man was arrested and the victim was found uninjured.
According to a criminal complaint obtained by NBC 15, the driver was identified as Kyle Wagner, a truck driver, who believed "people wanted to kill them so he was saving her." The sheriff's office says Wagner, 51, is from New York and was believed to be under the influence of a controlled substance.
A vehicle connected to Wagner was later found at the truck stop the stolen vehicle was taken from. Methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia were found inside.
The Columbia County Sheriff's Office says Wagner was booked into the county jail on the following charges: felony eluding, operating a motor vehicle without consent, false imprisonment, operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated, reckless driving endangering safety, possession of methamphetamine, and possession of drug paraphernalia. Additional charges are expected.
