Stop sticks needed to halt Linn County chase

Sheriff's deputies popped a fleeing pickup's tires to end a chase through rural Linn County early Thursday.

Deputies initially tried to pull over a pickup around 12:30 a.m. on Highway 94 near Lone Tree Road for a traffic violation. But the driver would not stop and continued on rural roads south of Palo.

Authorities used a deflation strip to puncture the pickup's tires at E Avenue and Stoney Point Road NW on the edge of Cedar Rapids, but it continued traveling east for more than a mile. It stopped at E Avenue and Weaver Road NW.

The driver, Thomas W. Buckallew, 40, had four warrants out for his arrest for failing to appear in court and third-degree harassment, authorities said.

Due to the chase, Buckallew was charged with attempting to elude, driving with a suspended license, fraudulent use of registration and other traffic charges.