100 mph on Highway 54

WAUPACA — It’s March 17. Five o’ clock on a Tuesday afternoon. Many people heading home after work and the traffic picks up. Capt. Kyle Wiskirchen of the Waupaca County Sheriff’s Office hears a dispatch about a domestic abuse suspect. Deputies in Portage County were on the lookout for a silver Chevrolet Silverado heading towards Waupaca. It was said the driver was driving recklessly and thought to be drunk.
Wiskirchen headed west on State Highway 54 and there it was, a silver Chevy truck he later described as moving at “incredibly high rate of speed.” It was coming right at him heading east in the other lane into Waupaca.
According to the criminal complaint, he swung his unmarked squad car around and got close enough to notice the truck’s license plate was obscured by snow and its passenger-side tail light was out. They were on the outskirts of city and the driver braked hard and made a tight left turn onto Shamrock Lane, not far from Foxfire Golf Club and Par4 Resort.
To make the turn, the truck driver cut in front of a vehicle in the oncoming lane and Wiskirchen could hear the screeching of tires as the driver tried to avoid a collision. He turned on his light bar and went after the truck on Shamrock Lane.
The entrance to Shamrock Lane leads uphill and the driver shifted into reverse, backing up wildly and almost hitting the squad car’s front bumper. The driver did a U-turn and as he did, the man looked right into Wiskirchen’s eyes. The chase was on. Wiskirchen turned on his siren and called dispatch.

Across the county line
Meanwhile, another deputy arrived to the area in the Town of Farmington and near the intersection of Highway 54 and White Pine Lane, he laid out spike strips to blow out the truck tires. The Silverado driver noticed them and swerved around, heading west on State Highway 54.
The driver stepped on the gas and pushed the Chevy pickup up to 100 mph in a 55 mph zone. Near Smith Lane, just before the Chain Exploration Center, the driver crossed the center line and drove the wrong way in the eastbound lane.
It didn’t make any sense to Wiskirchen. He reported there were no hazards or slower vehicles in the westbound lane to justify driving in the wrong lane. It was as if the driver wanted to endanger others and create chaos.
As the truck sped forward, several eastbound vehicles pulled onto the shoulder to avoid a head-on collision. Wiskirchen deemed it was too dangerous to the public to keep up the pursuit and he turned off his lights and siren.
He followed at a distance; crossing into Portage County to be sure the driver did not cause a car crash. News came over the radio: Portage County Sheriff deputies were on his tail and the chase was heading westward and into a trap.
By that time, deputies were able to lay out spike strips that covered the entire roadway and the Silverado was disabled.

The driver
Jamie Paul Kapellusch, 48, of Prairie du Chien is charged with first-degree recklessly endangering safety (Class F felony) and attempting to flee or elude an officer (Class H felony).
A background check revealed that Kapellusch was currently on parole for two counts of burglary and armed robbery. His criminal record includes numerous property crimes and a 2006 conviction for fleeing or eluding an officer.
In addition to the felony counts, Kapellusch got nailed with the following traffic tickets:
• Speeding (95 mph in a 55 mph zone)
• Unreasonable and imprudent speed.
• Unsafe lane deviation.
• Operating left of center.
• Failure to yield the right of way.
• Reckless driving.
• Unsafe backing.
• Failure to stop at a stop sign when re-entering the highway.