BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — A Bloomington man is in jail after being wanted for nearly three years for a 2021 police chase that injured a woman in Morgan County.
Bloomington Police arrested Oshawn McCullough, 30, at an apartment on Winslow Court on Wednesday for the active warrant.
According to court documents, police have been looking for McCullough after he fled from his hospital bed after waking from a medically induced coma.
The police chase started on Aug. 5, 2021, after a Bloomington Police officer stopped a car for reportedly travelling left of center when making a turn onto Basswood Drive at Bloomfield Road, court documents show.
When the officer and a detective approached the vehicle, the officers recognized McCullough because of an ongoing investigation.
The officers got his license and asked McCullough to exit the car, he grabbed the gear shift and sped off.
Court documents show McCullough later turned north onto Interstate 69, where the chase continued until the Sample Road exit when Bloomington Police terminated the pursuit.
McCullough reportedly continued driving north towards Morgan County.
Monroe County Dispatch contacted Morgan County Dispatch and gave the car information to pass along to a sheriff’s deputy who was parked in the median near the county line.
According to court documents, the deputy later spotted McCullough approaching within a group of cars and began following him north on I-69.
The deputy reported that after catching up with the group of cars, McCullough was seen travelling farther ahead, “at a high rate of speed.”
Court documents say the deputy was able to catch up to him at speeds “in excess of 100 per hour,” but McCullough did not stop, passing vehicles on the shoulder, losing control into a ditch.
He then reportedly turned north, driving into oncoming traffic that was travelling south on I-69, and sideswiped another car.
According to court documents, McCullough continued driving north towards Martinsville, where an officer was parked to deploy stop sticks.
When McCullough approached, he reportedly swerved to avoid the stop sticks, but hit the passenger side tires.
Court documents show he then lost control and collided head on with another car.
The driver of that vehicle was taken to IU Bloomington Hospital for serious injuries that would require surgery.
According to court documents, McCullough was pulled out of the vehicle and taken into custody. He was found to have over $2,000 in cash along with a handgun.
The Morgan County Sheriff’s Office also learned he had an active warrant from Kentucky.
Deputies were told by medics on scene that McCullough likely had serious internal injuries and would need to be sedated and flown to an Indianapolis hospital.
Court documents show that police told the hospital to alert them when McCullough would be released from the hospital.
When deputies went to the hospital the following morning, the hospital reported he had ran out of the hospital.
For the police chase, McCullough was charged in 2021 with:
- Resisting law enforcement with a vehicle causing death or injury, a level 3 felony;
- Serious violent felon in possession of a firearm, a level 4 felony;
- Resisting law enforcement causing serious bodily injury, a level 5 felony;
- Felon carrying a handgun with a prior felony conviction in the last 15 years, a level 5 felony;
- 3 counts of leaving the scene of an accident, all class B misdemeanors
During Wednesday’s arrest, McCullough was charged additionally with:
- Dealing in meth of 10 or more grams, a level 2 felony;
- Possession of meth, a level 3 felony;
- Serious violent felon in possession of a firearm, a level 4 felony;
- Possession of cocaine, a level 4 felony
Additionally, according to online court records, McCullough’s 2014 criminal case for drug charges has also been reopened, with the state petitioning to revoke his suspended sentence.
According to Indiana sentencing guidelines, level 2 felonies carry a sentence of up to 30 years in prison, level 3 felonies carry a maximum sentence of 16 years, level 4 felonies carry a sentence of up to 12 years, and level 5 felonies carry a maximum sentence of six years.
McCullough entered a not guilty plea at his initial hearing on Thursday. He is due back in court on June 24 for a bail review hearing.
