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Man arrested after chase
Wesley Warren Smith
Purchase this photoHUNTINGTON -- Police arrested a 32-year-old man after he led them on a two-county chase that ended near Kenova early Saturday morning.
Wesley Warren Smith was arrested and charged with DUI second offense, DUI while fleeing police -- a felony -- and reckless driving.
West Virginia State Police Trooper Greg Losh said he first noticed a problem when a vehicle was heading west in the eastbound lane of U.S. 60, the same lane Losh was traveling in, at about 2 a.m. in Barboursville.
Losh said he turned in pursuit of the car, with lights flashing and sirens blaring, but the suspect did not stop, instead getting on Interstate 64 heading west, where the chase reached speeds of up to 90 miles per hour.
The suspect then allegedly pulled off the 5th Street exit into Huntington, where he continued to evade police along W.Va. 152 into Wayne County, eventually turning onto W.Va. 75, where he crashed in a ditch near Kenova, Losh said.
"He was pretty inconsistent with his speed," Losh said. "Occassionally he would slow down, but, when he hit those straight stretches of road, he really kicked it up."
Losh said the suspect was heavily intoxicated and immediately taken into custody.
Smith is lodged in the Western Regional Jail.
