A man in Hancock County is facing various felony charges after he led officers on a dangerous multi-county chase. It involved crashed police cruisers, a civilian vehicle, and more, with the driver’s ex-wife and child inside the truck throughout the whole ordeal.
The chase unfolded on May 26 in Hancock County before eventually crossing over into Ohio County, Kentucky. Deputies in the Ohio County Sheriff’s Office were notified by Hancock County Dispatch of a vehicle heading into their county at 5:17 pm.
The car was identified as a silver Ford F-150, and the driver as Cody Wedding. Things took a much more dramatic turn when it was realized that Wedding was holding his ex-wife and child in the truck against their will.
Even after Wedding rammed his truck into a police cruiser, the pursuit went on. The chase finally ended when both police agencies chased Wedding through State Route 69 North until he drove into a ditch, allowing officers to apprehend and arrest him.
Ford F-150 Leads Police on Wild Chase
Once it was determined that there were other passengers in the vehicle besides Wedding, the pursuit became far more serious. Hancock County Sheriff’s Deputy Butch Garst kept chasing the truck, even as it drove into Ohio County, where he was joined by Hancock County Deputy Cody Axton and Hawesville Police Chief B.J. Burton.
The chase continued through Fordsville before turning on State Route 69 North and going south towards Dundee. Spike strips were deployed in an attempt to stop the vehicle, but he was able to avoid the strips by swerving.
Unfortunately, this swerve caused Wedding to his a civilian vehicle, putting another driver in danger. Authorities tried multiple times to box Wedding in while driving, but he managed to elude police, even crashing head-on with a cruised driver by Ohio County Sheriff Adam Wright.
Multiple Charges Filed Against Ford F-150 Driver
Once the truck got lodged in a ditch, it became nearly impossible for the driver to escape. Deputies were able to quickly move in and take Wedding into custody without and further incident. It was also reported that both the woman and child inside the truck were unharmed.
The driver who was struck by Wedding as well as the Sheriff whose vehicle was struck were also unharmed. The only real damage was to Deputy Garst’s Dodge Durango, two Ohio County Sheriff’s Office cruisers, and the civilian vehicle mentioned before.
Wedding was transported to the Ohio County Detention Center where he was charged with various offenses, including second-offense operating a motor vehicle under the indluence with aggravating circumstances, first-degree fleeing or evading police, three countys of first-degree fleeing or evading police, three counts of first-degree criminal mischieg, reckless driving, and first-degree wanton endangerment.
Reactions to Wild Police Chase
Commenters under the Facebook post made by the Ohio County Sheriff’s Office were quick to share their opinions, with many praising the involved officers. One person wrote, “Round of applause for the OC Sheriff’s department Adam and his crew for getting this guy stopped before he got into town. This incident could have been way worse. Happy to hear everyone is ok 
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Another commenter was accutely aware of the dangers that the driver posed on others on the road, writing, “Wow, this guy could have killed so many people. I pray everyone is OK. I really hope this guy gets some serious time in prison! Our Sheriff Adam Wright is a great man hope he wasn’t injured, head on is usually very serious. I pray everyone involved is OK. Is there anything as a community we can do to help the ex wife & child?”
Local authorities did not release additional identifying information. When agencies provide limited details, we supplement reporting with local news coverage, public records, and direct outreach whenever possible. In this case, no additional information was available at the time of publication.