He was free from prison 45 minutes – then started a police chase, Wisconsin cops say

A released prison inmate was a free man for about 45 minutes when he got into trouble with the law, Wisconsin cops say.

Deputies responded to a domestic violence report on the highway near Trenton on Wednesday, according to the Dodge County Sheriff’s Office. A woman had left the car and the man drove away, police say.

A deputy found the car and tried to make a traffic stop, but the driver sped away, hitting a motorcycle along the way, police say. The police chase continued with the suspect reaching “high speeds” and driving in the wrong lane of traffic.

The driver ran a stop sign and crashed into trees a while later, then ran away, police say.

But deputies and the sheriff soon caught him, according to police.

Equon Hopkins, a 40-year-old Madison man, was arrested and charged with eluding an officer, hit and run of an attended vehicle, endangering safety by reckless driving and domestic battery.

Hopkins had been released from prison at 9 a.m. that day. The police chase started shortly after 9:43 a.m., police say.

Hopkins was hospitalized for minor injuries then booked into jail. No one else was injured.

This story was originally published July 30, 2020 at 2:58 PM with the headline "He was free from prison 45 minutes – then started a police chase, Wisconsin cops say."