Man charged in terrifying nighttime I-43 chase

A 35-year-old man accused of leading officers from at least three departments on a high-speed, nighttime chase through Ozaukee County in October 2023 — at one point driving his SUV south in the northbound lanes of I-43 without his headlights on, forcing oncoming cars to swerve out of the way and sideswiping two — was charged last week in Ozaukee County Circuit Court with 11 felonies. 

Milwaukee resident Deandre J. Beason faces eight counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety and one count of fleeing officers in a vehicle causing property damage.

Beason, who at the time of the chase was free in lieu of bail on felony drug charges and a charge of fleeing officers in Waukesha and Milwaukee counties, is also charged in Ozaukee County with two counts of bail jumping.

Beason has been behind bars since his arrest, which may explain why he wasn’t charged sooner in Ozaukee County. The chase began in Sheboygan County, and on Nov. 2, 2023, prosecutors there charged him with fleeing an officer and two counts of felony bail jumping. He was held in jail in lieu of $30,000 bail until August 2024, when he pleaded no contest to fleeing and one bail jumping charge and was sentenced to 18 months in prison and two years of extended supervision.

Now he faces charges in Ozaukee County.

According to a criminal complaint, at 9:17 p.m. Monday, Oct. 30, 2023, the Sheboygan County Sheriff’s Department notified multiple agencies that a white Chevrolet Tahoe that was fleeing officers at more than 100 mph on I-43 was heading south into Ozaukee County. The driver of the Tahoe, who was later identified as Beason, was throwing items out the window of the vehicle.

An Ozaukee County sheriff’s deputy who was just north of Port Washington spotted the Tahoe and reported that when it passed him the driver turned off the vehicle’s headlights.

A short time later, another deputy successfully deployed tire spikes and deflated at least one of the Tahoe’s tires, but the vehicle continued south.

The vehicle was seen next just south of Highway 33 in Saukville, and now it was traveling south in the northbound lanes of I-43.

At least two deputies and a Wisconsin state trooper chased the Tahoe, which still did not have its headlights on, as on-coming vehicles swerved to avoid the SUV and two were sideswiped by it. The Tahoe was traveling at about 60 mph and throwing sparks from one of its wheels.

The Tahoe eventually entered a construction zone, drove into an area of gravel and dirt and spun out across from the Hampton Inn and Suites in Grafton. Beason ran from the vehicle and disappeared.

As authorities were searching for him, a deputy noted that the tonneau cover of a pickup truck with U.S. government plates on it was askew and pulled it back to find Beason in the back of the pickup talking to someone on his cell phone, the complaint states.

Beason jumped from the truck and tried to run but was tased by a deputy. He resisted arrest but was ultimately handcuffed, according to the complaint. 

Authorities spoke to several motorists who had to swerve to avoid head-on collisions with the Tahoe, including a woman who said that although the SUV didn’t have its headlights on she saw sparks coming from its wheel and swerved at the last minute. She said she was so shaken by the incident that she had to stop multiple times on the way home to regain her composure.

A man told authorities that he left work at the Meijer store in Grafton and was driving north on I-43 with his grandmother in the car and following his friend. Suddenly his friend swerved and the man saw the Tahoe coming directly toward him. He swerved, heard loud noises coming from the passenger side of his car and spun out in the middle of the freeway. His vehicle and his friend’s car both had damage on the right side.

A woman said she, her husband and their two young children were driving north when suddenly an SUV that was headed directly toward their car turned on its headlights. The woman said she had to brake and swerve to avoid a head-on collision. 

Two people in another vehicle related a similar story and said getting struck head-on by the SUV “would have been a death sentence,” the complaint states. Both of them vowed never to drive on I-43 in the dark again.

At the time of the chase, Beason was free in lieu of $5,000 bail on drug charges in Milwaukee County. Those  charges were later dismissed.

In addition, he was free in lieu of $20,000 bail in Waukesha County, where he faced multiple felonies. He pleaded no contest in December 2024 to fleeing an officer, possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and possession with intent to distribute cocaine and a month later was sentenced to 1-1/2 years in prison and two years of extended supervision.

He has not yet been booked in Ozaukee County.