A man has been arrested for following and intentionally ramming another vehicle several times Thursday night, according to the Daviess County Sheriff’s Office. One of the occupants was pregnant and suffered an arm injury.
According to a release, at approximately 9 p.m. Thursday DCSO patrol deputies responded to a report of an accident with injuries in the 900 block of Pleasant Valley Road (No. 1).
Upon arrival, deputies discovered three wrecked vehicles including a parked car. Authorities say they spoke with the drivers and passengers involved along with witnesses, and reviewed video from neighborhood security cameras.
Deputies determined that the wreck was the result of one of the drivers — Dion Bates, 28, of Owensboro — intentionally ramming another vehicle, which caused that vehicle to lose control and strike the parked car, the release says.
According to DCSO, one of the occupants of the car that was rammed was pregnant and suffered an injury to her arm because of the crash. She was treated at the scene by AMR, Daviess County Fire Department, and Maceo Fire Department personnel. An off-duty Owensboro Health Regional Hospital nurse also assisted at the scene.
Further investigation revealed that the incident allegedly began in the parking lot of the Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers restaurant on KY 54, when Bates rammed the victim’s car for the first time, the release says.
Authorities said the victims then left the parking lot and were followed by Bates who again rammed them at the intersection of KY 54 and Heartland Crossing Boulevard, the off ramp of the Wendell Ford Expressway at KY 144, and then one final time on Pleasant Valley Road, where the incident concluded.
Video shared with deputies shows that once the victim’s car was disabled, Bates began “aggressively searching” for the driver of the car he had rammed, the release says. Following the wreck, that driver had sought shelter in a nearby home where he called for help and awaited deputies.
Following the initial investigation, Bates was charged for several violations and booked into the Daviess County Detention Center. Deputies are continuing the investigation.
Bates was charged with six counts of first-degree wanton endangerment.
