A Florida man is in custody after leading law enforcement on a dangerous pursuit through North Platte and Lincoln County Thursday afternoon. The Nebraska State Patrol says the incident began around 12:35 p.m. when a trooper attempted to stop a Ford Focus after the driver allegedly ran a stop sign on Halligan Drive near I-80 and cut off a semi-truck directly in front of the patrol vehicle.
Patrol spokesman Cody Thomas says the driver refused to stop, accelerating to more than 80 miles per hour while driving westbound in the eastbound lane of Halligan Drive and using the grass shoulder to pass traffic.
Investigators say the vehicle also sped through parking lots, ran a red light and continued north into North Platte before the initial pursuit was ended because of public safety concerns. Additional troopers, North Platte police officers and Lincoln County sheriff’s deputies searched for the vehicle. Thomas says a North Platte police officer later located the car and began a second pursuit through the city.
The driver eventually headed east on Highway 30, made several U-turns in an attempt to evade officers and swerved toward multiple patrol vehicles. Thomas says the pursuit ended after the driver turned onto Scouts Rest Ranch Road and then Buffalo Bill Avenue, where officers deployed stop sticks near the intersection of Buffalo Bill Avenue and Highway 30.
Troopers say the driver refused commands to exit the vehicle before officers removed him and took him into custody. 31-year-old Cameron Brogan of St. Petersburg was arrested for willful reckless driving, flight to avoid arrest, assault on an officer using a motor vehicle, obstructing a peace officer and numerous traffic violations.
Brogan was booked into the Lincoln County Jail.