Motorcycle crash leads to two arrests in Jennings County

Two people were arrested after a motorcycle chase and crash in Jennings County.

According to reports from the Jennings County Sheriff’s Department, the incident started at about 12:30 a.m. in the morning on Saturday when a deputy tried to stop a motorcycle without a license plate on State Road 7. Instead of stopping, the driver took off on the highway at speeds of up to 100 mph. Deputies called off the chase at Country Squire Lakes because of concerns for public safety.

A short while later, a motorcycle accident was reported at the intersection of Country Manor and Country Squire Boulevard. But the two men on the cycle asked witnesses not to call the police. When deputies arrived there was no motorcycle to be found. But 22 year old Zachary T. Hamblen of Vallonia was lying on the ground. Hamblen told police that he had wrecked his bicycle and that his mother had already come to pick up the bike.

However, witnesses said that the motorcycle passenger had pushed the cycle away from the scene. Deputies soon found it about 100 yards away hidden in the grass. They also found 21-year-old Kaleb Root of North Vernon hiding behind a tree. A nearby jacket was found along with 3 and a half grams of heroin and fentanyl.

Root was arrested on charges of obstructing of justice and assisting a criminal.

Hamblen was taken to the hospital for treatment of his injuries and faces preliminary charges of resisting law enforcement by fleeing in a vehicle and possession of a narcotic drug.