By JAMES BELL
Hays Post
A police chase Sunday night that began in Hays ended with a DUI arrest after a winding chase through Ellis County.
At around 10:45 p.m., a Hays police corporal accompanied by an officer in training was traveling on the U.S. 183 Bypass, passing Frontier Park-West when a two-door red sedan passed the officers on the shoulder to the right at a high rate of speed, according to Brian Dawson, Hays deputy chief of police.
Along with the high rate of speed, the officers also noticed no license plate was affixed to the car.
When officers attempted to initiate a traffic stop, the suspect vehicle fled.
The officers pursued the vehicle as it traveled west on the U.S. 183 Bypass, swerving several times into the oncoming traffic lane.
The suspect then exited the highway toward Rome Road heading west.
The vehicle continued swerving in and out of his lane, turned south on 230th Avenue, then turned onto Old U.S. 40.
After another vehicle had to maneuver out of the way quickly, the pursuit was terminated "due to the reckless and dangerous driving of the sedan," Dawson said.
While the officers were not in full pursuit, they remained behind the vehicle as it continued traveling under the speed limit, turning onto 210th Avenue and then Vineyard Road.
While on Vineyard, dust from the suspect vehicle blocked the officers' view, and they lost sight of the vehicle, Dawson said.
A deputy with the Ellis County Sheriff's Office would find the vehicle abandoned in the 1100 block of Vineyard a short time later.
When the HPD officers arrived on the scene, a dog barking in a nearby field alerted them to the suspect's presence.
He was then located on his knees with his hands in the air and taken into custody.
Dawson said that the suspect was later identified as Eric William Kraft, 45, Damar, after giving a false name to the officers.
He also allegedly told officers his wife was driving the vehicle and had fled, but no one else was located during a search of the area.
It was later determined she was in Bunker Hill at the time of the incident, Dawson said.
The state of the interior of the vehicle also led officers to doubt the story.
"There were so many items inside the vehicle that another person could not have been inside the vehicle, other than the driver," Dawson said.
Kraft was arrested on suspicion of fleeing and eluding a law enforcement officer, interference with a law enforcement officer and driving under the influence.
Kraft has previous convictions for burglary, battery and aggravated battery, according to Kansas Department of Corrections online records.