A high-speed traffic stop on northbound I-65 in Clark County turned into highway chaos today when a three-vehicle crash flipped an Indiana State Police cruiser and sent multiple people, including two children, to area hospitals, authorities said. The wreck near Jeffersonville temporarily shut down several lanes and ended with one woman in custody while another occupant from the fleeing car took off on foot and remained at large.
How the chase unfolded
Indiana State Police say troopers tried to pull over a black 2015 Chrysler 200 on northbound I-65. During the short pursuit, which stretched roughly a quarter mile, the Chrysler hit a gold 2003 Ford Crown Victoria, triggering a chain-reaction crash that ultimately left the trooper's cruiser on its roof, according to WLKY. Multiple lanes were shut down while first responders worked the scene. WLKY reported that the trooper was taken to a hospital with injuries described as non-life-threatening. Indiana State Police are leading the crash investigation.
Arrest, charges and injuries
Investigators identified the arrested driver as 22-year-old Lamyaa Johnson of Louisville. She is being held at the Clark County Jail and faces preliminary charges that include resisting law enforcement with a vehicle resulting in bodily injury, reckless driving, aggressive driving, obstruction of justice and assisting a criminal, according to a department release cited by WISH-TV. The release said those taken to hospitals included two children, the Crown Victoria's driver, Johnson and Trooper Wyatt Madden. It added that Madden managed to get out of his overturned cruiser and detain the suspected driver. Indiana State Police asked anyone with information about the incident to contact the ISP Sellersburg post at 1-800-872-6743, according to the release.
Traffic and public-safety concerns
The crash jammed traffic on I-65 for hours as crews cleared mangled vehicles and investigators documented the scene, WLKY reported. Officials have repeatedly warned that high-speed pursuits on busy interstates raise the risk of secondary collisions and major traffic disruptions. Authorities have not said whether the person who ran from the scene on foot has since been found.
Why it matters
Southern Indiana has seen multiple serious pursuit-related crashes in recent years, including a 2023 Clark County incident that ended in a deadly chain-reaction collision and several injuries, underscoring how quickly a single chase can ripple through highway traffic, according to WAVE3. State police say the latest case remains under investigation and that the charges against Johnson are preliminary.
This story will be updated as officials release additional details.
