A Sioux Falls man is sitting in jail after leading police on a Smokey and the Bandit like high-speed chase through Sioux Falls that eventually ended with a stolen vehicle he was driving crashing into a train car.

Dakota News Now is reporting that 51-year-old Kirk Allan Whalen was arrested early Tuesday morning (December 1) after taking a high-speed ride through a neighborhood of Sioux Falls that started on a residential street near East 10th and Cliff Avenue.

Officer Sam Clemens with the Sioux Falls Police Department told Dakota News Now the incident began after Whalen stole a 2001 Toyota Avalon around 1:30 AM on Tuesday.

Soon after the vehicle was stolen, police attempted to catch up with the suspect, but Whalen took off at a high rate of speed. The pursuing officer chose not to follow due to the speed that Whalen was traveling at the time. A short time later, another officer saw the stolen vehicle Whalen was driving, traveling at an estimated 70 miles per hour.

As the police pursuit continued, Whalen eventually crashed the stolen vehicle into a parked train car while trying to make a turn at the intersection of 12th Street and Cliff Avenue. He then attempted to flee the vehicle on foot but, officers soon apprehended him.

According to Dakota News Now, Whalen is looking at a variety of charges that include possession of a stolen vehicle and aggravated eluding.

Both the stolen vehicle involved in the chase and the parked train car sustained fairly significant damage. Clemens estimates the damage to the Toyota Avalon at nearly $3,000, and the damage to the train car at around $2,000.

Source: Dakota News Now

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