A Madison man sits in Sauk County’s jail on a $7,500 cash bond after deputies say he was caught driving drunk, led officers on a high-speed chase and then wrecked his car.
Allen E. Gibson, 57, was in Sauk County Circuit Court Tuesday to face a count of repeat drunk driving and fleeing law officers, also as a repeater. If he is convicted, Gibson faces up to two years on the drunk driving charge and a maximum of seven years, six months on the fleeing charge.
Late Saturday afternoon the Sauk County dispatcher told a deputy sheriff a possible drunk driver was headed toward his location, court documents state. The deputy spotted the car on Highway 33 near Reedsburg and followed it, observing that the driver was weaving out of his lane.
When he stopped the car, the officer reported he could smell intoxicants on Gibson’s breath, records state. When the officer asked if Gibson had been drinking, he said Gibson used the "f" word to tell him it was none of his business.
The officer returned to his car to call in other officers to make the arrest and noticed Gibson rolled up his window, put on his safety belt and started his car. When a back-up officer approached the car, Gibson refused to shut off the vehicle and threatened to drag the officer "down the ******* road," documents state.
The back-up officer put a spike device in front of Gibson’s right rear tire in an attempt to stop him from leaving the traffic stop, records state. Gibson drove off anyway, destroying his right rear tire and fleeing at speeds up to 65 mph. The deputy reported he kept driving even after his right rear tire came completely off its rim.
Officers from several jurisdictions pursued him and Gibson in one instance avoided a spike strip by driving into a ditch, records state. The officers stopped the pursuit near Wonewoc.
The investigating deputy reports he later learned Gibson crashed his car and was taken to Richland Center Hospital. He spoke to Gibson later that evening, found him on a backboard in the hospital and shackled. The deputy formally arrested Gibson on the two criminal charges at that time, records state.
In court Tuesday, the county prosecutor asked that Gibson be held on a $10,000 cash bond because of his previous criminal history and a warrant for his arrest from Dane County. Gibson’s public defender argued for a lower bond amount.
The judge set Gibson’s bond at $7,500 cash and scheduled a preliminary hearing on the evidence for July 10.
On Thursday evening Gibson was still being held at the Sauk County Law Enforcement Center, according to jail staff.
Gibson faces another drunk driving charge in Dane County and has a 2005 conviction for felony battery, Wisconsin online court records show.
