12/9/19 Clarksville, TN – Traffic Stop By Deputy Of Montgomery County Sheriffs – Found Drugs – Fight With Deputy – Steals Deputy’s Patrol SUV – 120 MPH Chase – Wrecked Patrol Car – 2 Deputies Injured – 1 Deploying Stop Sticks And 1 Struck By The SUV

December , 2019

www.theleafchronicle.com

A patrol car was stolen in Clarksville by a man who then led deputies on a 120 mph chase on Interstate 24 toward Nashville on Monday morning.

The man was caught when he wrecked the car a half hour later on a two-lane road in Cheatham County.

At approximately 9:53 a.m., Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Daniel Gagnon stopped Andrew Timmerman for a window tint violation at Sango Drive and Sango Road, according to Michelle Newell, county spokesperson. 

The deputy found narcotics on Timmerman, and while he was being arrested, he began to fight Gagnon, Newell said. During the struggle, Timmerman got away, jumped in the marked patrol car, and drive away from the scene, Newell said.

Several units responded to the chase down I-24, reaching speeds of 120 mph, including Clarksville Police, Tennessee Highway Patrol with helicopters, TWRA, Cheatham County Sheriff’s Office, Pleasant View Police, and Ashland City Police. 

All Montgomery County Sheriff’s vehicles are outfitted with GPS systems, so authorities can monitor in real time where each vehicle is, Newell said.

At some point, Timmerman left I-24 and went south into Cheatham County.

While trying to avoid a spike strip, Timmerman went off the road and into a ditch on Bearwallow Road, Newell said. He was taken into custody at 10:23 a.m. and was taken to a hospital with minor injuries.

A Cheatham County deputy was injured while trying to deploy spike strips. That deputy was transported to a hospital for treatment. 

Gagnon was also injured when Timmerman hit him with the patrol car. He was treated at the scene by Montgomery County EMS.

“Traffic stops can turn into dangerous situations very quickly,” said Montgomery County Sheriff John Fuson.

“We are thankful that we were able to quickly track the vehicle and get this dangerous criminal into custody. I greatly appreciate the assistance given by all of our neighboring law enforcement agencies during this incident. We are also extremely grateful that there were only minor injuries and no lives were lost during this incident,” Fuson said.

The search prompted the Cheatham County School District to briefly place all schools in the district’s northern cluster on “a precautionary lockout.” The lockout was lifted shortly after it was issued, the district said.

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office and the Tennessee Highway Patrol are investigating the incident, and Timmerman is facing multiple charges in both Montgomery and Cheatham counties, Newell said.

The driver, Andrew Steven Timmerman, 35, of Hermitage has a long history of arrests for driving offenses and running from police, according to records obtained by The Leaf-Chronicle.

The arrests on his record started in 2003 when he was 19 and was charged in Mt. Juliet with reckless endangerment and leaving the scene of an accident.

His license was later suspended, and then revoked, and he was charged multiple times thereafter with driving on a revoked license.

In 2011, he was charged in Sumner County with being a fugitive from justice. That charge was later given a nolle dismissal. The next year, he faced a fugitive charge again in Cheatham County, and that was also dismissed.

Several other arrests are on his record, including for drug possession.