Stanley Man Enters Plea for High Speed Chase
Friday, June 14th, 2019 -- 12:37 PM
-A Stanley man arrested for leading authorities on a high speed chase appeared in Clark County Court on Wednesday.According to court records, back in December, a caller reported a truck driving erratically on Highway 29 in Clark County. An officer from the Abby-Colby Police Department located the vehicle and determined it was traveling 92mph as it was heading into Marathon County. The officer tried to pull over the truck, but the driver didn’t stop. The driver reached speeds of 110mph and unsafely passed many other vehicles on the highway. The driver then began to abruptly slow down and speed up. Authorities believe the driver was trying to get the officer to rear end the truck. After the driver eventually reached the Marathon area, officers were able to place spike strips. The driver lost his front driver’s side tire. He went an additional 7 miles before the truck came to stop near 72nd Avenue in Wausau. The driver, Dale Kortesmaki, was ordered to get out of the vehicle, but he refused, honking his horn and yelling.
Eventually, officers broke a window and forced Kortesmaki out of the truck. An open bottle of whiskey was in the vehicle. Kortesmaki was taken to the hospital for a blood draw and facial injuries. The entire time he continued to be combative. He was brought to the Clark County Jail and, while removing him from the squad car, he head-butted an officer. During his court appearance on Thursday, Kortesmaki pleaded guilty to fleeing or eluding an officer, 4th OWI and battery to a law enforcement officer. Several other charges were dismissed and read in. A pre-sentencing investigation was ordered and he’s scheduled to be sentenced on October 28th.
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