For the second time in less than a month, a 39-year-old Salina man is involved in a high speed chase with law enforcement.

Saline County Sheriff’s Captain Roger Soldan said a deputy tried to pull over a 2006 Buick Lucerne driven by Vernon L. Howard at milepost 88 on Interstate 135 for speeding at about 8:15 p.m. Thursday evening.

Howard left the Interstate at the Water Well Road exit and did not stop. He drove at a high rate of speed east on Water Well, lost control of the car and went off the road briefly, before driving east again on Water Well, before driving east again. Speeds reached over 100 mph.

Three passengers jumped out of the car in the area of Simpson road while the car was going 40-50 mph.

The pursuit ended when the car went into a field near Cunningham Road. Howard ran from the car and with the use of night vision, was apprehended. Saline County Reserve deputies and the Kansas Highway Patrol assisted in the brief search.

Howard was booked into the Saline County Jail on requested charges that include flee and elude, obstruction, and kidnapping. The kidnapping charges are requested because two passengers, 19-year-old Halie McPherson, and 29-year-old Kyle Young, both of Wichita, had asked Howard to stop so they could get out of the car. They, along with 32-year-old Robert Scott Jr., were treated for minor scrapes after jumping out of the car. The three were getting a ride from Wichita to Junction City. Scott was booked into the jail on an outstanding warrant from Geary County.

Back on December 17th, Howard was involved in a high speed chase with Salina Police that ended after the car he was in, hit a curb on East Crawford near Bill Burke Park. In that chase speeds were at 75 mph.