CHARLESTOWN, Ind.–An officer with the Charlestown Police Department has died following a traffic chase late Wednesday evening. Indiana State Police spokesperson Sgt. Carey Huls says that Charlestown policeman Benton Bertram attempted a traffic stop on a car, but the vehicle sped away. Bertram followed in pursuit, but ran off the roadway near the intersection of State Roads 3 and 56, east of Scottsburg, striking a tree at a nearby residence. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The preliminary investigation reveals that the chase began in Clark County, near Charlestown, when the officer attempted to pull over a 1998 Toyota Corolla for a traffic violation. The driver of the vehicle allegedly fled north into Scott County.
The suspect, Benjamin Eads, 35, of Freedom, was later located and apprehended in Clark County. Indiana State Police detectives and crash reconstructionists continue to investigate the incident.
Eads has been charged in Scott County for resisting law enforcement causing death, a Level 2 Felony. In Clark County, he was booked for resisting law enforcement and auto theft. Eads was transported to the Scott County Jail.
Officer Benton Bertram, 33, was a nine-year veteran of the Charlestown Police Department.
