A New Windsor man found himself in serious trouble after leading police on a wild chase across eastern Putnam County, ending in Mahopac on Wednesday, January 8. The chaotic scene started mid-morning and involved police from several departments working together to bring the situation under control.
It all began around 11:30 a.m. when Putnam County 911 started getting alarming calls about a man on I-84 westbound, near I-684. Witnesses said he was standing in the middle of the road, trying to stop passing cars. When officers from the Putnam County Sheriff’s Department and New York State Police arrived, the man—later identified as Ian Assad Morgan, 34—jumped into a nearby parked vehicle and took off, sparking the chase.
From there, Morgan led police on a high-speed pursuit along I-84, zigzagging westbound, then eastbound, and back westbound again. Despite police setting up spike strips to slow him down, Morgan managed to avoid them and kept going. He eventually exited at Route 311 and took the chase onto local roads in Patterson, Kent, and Carmel.
The pursuit finally came to an end in Mahopac on Route 6, south of Baldwin Lane, when Morgan’s vehicle collided with a Carmel Police Department car. Carmel Police Chief Anthony Hoffman explained that Lieutenant Michael Bodo ended the chase by blocking Morgan’s path. Fortunately, no one was hurt during the ordeal, but three Carmel police vehicles were damaged. Chief Hoffman noted that the damage seems repairable.
The chase wasn’t just fast—it was dangerous. According to Hoffman, Morgan was recklessly driving down the middle of the road and, at times, even on the wrong side. He reportedly tried to ram both police and civilian vehicles. To keep everyone safe, Carmel High School was briefly put on hold-in-place as the chase unfolded nearby. The precaution has since been lifted.
While the exact reasons behind Morgan’s actions are still under investigation, his chaotic drive left plenty of questions and some shaken nerves across the county. Authorities are continuing to piece together what led to this high-stakes incident.