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Westville ofc. ID'd after being struck by car

Posted at 4:03 PM, Dec 15, 2015
and last updated 2015-12-15 17:03:39-05

WESTVILLE, Okla. – A Westville police officer is recovering after a high speed chase that reached speeds of 110 miles per hour left him in critical condition Monday.

According  to 5NEWS in Arkansas, the officer, Joshua Sidebottom, was taken to Washington Regional Medical Center for surgery after being hit by a car during the chase. Sidebottom is now in critical but stable condition. 

Captain Doug Inman, with the Adair County Sheriff’s Office, said the pursuit started Monday night when a deputy noticed a suspect with felony warrants out for his arrest driving north on U.S. Highway 59.

Inman said deputies attempted to stop the suspect, Brandon Rowan, 35, who then fled. The suspect even drove through a barricade that authorities placed in his way.

“He was running several people off the road, so we ran the road block,” Inman explained. “He came up to this intersection at Buffington Road and U.S. Highway 59 and that’s when he struck a Westville police officer.”

The police officer was laying down spike strips in the road to stop the suspect when he was hit by the vehicle, according to the Adair County Sheriff’s Office.

The sheriff’s office went on to say that the suspect kept driving but crashed not long after.

“All we know is he had major, major injuries and he’s still at the hospital,” Inman said. “We’re just all praying for the officer.”

According to OSBI, Rowan has a criminal record including arrests for for eluding a police officer, carrying a firearm after conviction, kidnapping, possession of a controlled substance, and domestic assault and battery. 

 

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