Parchment man arrested following high-speed chase

Vanderhorst

By Allison Scarbrough. Contributing Editor.

LUDINGTON — A 27-year-old Parchment, Mich. man was arrested following a high-speed chase through the city limits early Sunday morning, July 26, that involved the suspect crashing into two parked trucks, a boat trailer and a tree.

The chase ended when Jonathan Vanderhorst’s vehicle flipped over after hitting a 6-foot by 6-foot embankment enclosed by wooden beams near the intersection of Rowe and Pere Marquette streets, said Captain Mike Harrie of the Ludington Police Department. Vanderhorst was transported by Life EMS to Spectrum Health in Ludington and later lodged in the Mason County Jail. He was arraigned in 79th District Court on a felony of fleeing and eluding. A charge of operating while intoxicated is pending lab results.

“Luckily no one was seriously wounded,” Harrie said. Vanderhorst allegedly ran stop signs and yield signs, reaching speeds of 80 mph.

An LPD officer was alerted that a Ludington State Park employee had called 911 reporting that a male subject was denied access to the park and was driving erratically and sweating profusely at approximately 12:30 a.m., Harrie said. The officer “intercepted” him on Lakeshore Drive heading south, and he began heading east on Pere Marquette, Harrie said. “He activated his overheads and began pursuing him. After the crash, Vanderhorst was taken into custody. “He didn’t resist and was ordered to the ground and cooperated after that,” Harrie said. Vanderhorst was the lone occupant in the vehicle, he said.