photo by: Kansas Department of Corrections

Steven Carl Drake II

A Lawrence man currently charged in multiple cases with fleeing from police was arrested early Monday morning after he allegedly rammed into a sheriff’s deputy’s patrol vehicle while fleeing.

Deputies attempted to stop a Chevrolet pickup for speeding around 1:25 a.m. in the area of East 1600 Road and U.S. Highway 24-40 in northeastern Douglas County, said George Diepenbrock, spokesperson with the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office.

The driver of the truck initially slowed the vehicle but then accelerated away from the deputy. After the driver fled, a deputy was able to perform a tactical vehicle intervention maneuver (TVI), Diepenbrock said. A TVI is when a deputy uses the front of his patrol vehicle to nudge the side rear panel of the fleeing vehicle in an effort to spin-out the fleeing vehicle and stop it.

The driver was able to recover and continue east on the highway before ramming into a patrol vehicle, which sent the fleeing truck into a ditch, breaking off the truck’s wheel at the axle, Diepenbrock said.

Steven Carl Drake II, 48, was booked into the Douglas County jail on suspicion of aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer with a motor vehicle, attempting to flee, and possession of drug paraphernalia, according to the jail booking log. He is being held without bond.

Drake has two trials scheduled in Douglas County this year in April and May for alleged car chases that ended in property damage in February and May of 2022, as the Journal-World reported. He is charged in Jefferson County for a chase in July of 2022 and is scheduled to appear for a status conference in that case next month.

Drake has felony convictions in Douglas County for flee and elude, endangering a child and theft. In Jefferson County, he has felony convictions for forgery, obstruction and aggravated interference of parental custody, according to Kansas Department of Corrections records. He was recently acquitted in Douglas County District Court of an attempted murder charge.

Steven C. Drake II should not be confused with his son, Steven A. Drake III, who was convicted in February of 2022 of voluntary manslaughter for shooting Bryce Holladay, 26, on Sept. 19, 2017.