Teen Allegedly Stole A Corvette From The Relative Who Bailed Him Out, Then Hit 140 MPH Fleeing Iowa Police
An 18-year-old from Newton, Iowa, is facing felony charges after allegedly stealing a 2007 Chevrolet Corvette from the same family member who had posted his bail just one day earlier. According to the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office, the theft touched off a pursuit on Interstate 80 that hit speeds over 140 mph before the driver ran out of road and buried the car in a bean field.
Braiden Billings had been released from the Jasper County Jail on October 11 after a relative paid his bond on an assault charge. By 5:08 p.m. the next day, that same relative was calling police to report their Corvette stolen. Less than three hours later, a deputy spotted the car westbound on I-80 near mile marker 150, and what should have been a routine stop turned into a genuine high-speed chase.
A Routine Stop Turned Into A 140-MPH Pursuit
The deputy tried to pull the Corvette over near the Mitchellville Rest Area, activating emergency lights as the car continued west. Instead of stopping, Billings allegedly pushed the car past 140 mph as the chase carried on into Polk County. That’s not a number police cars match casually, and it’s not a number most drivers reach by accident, either. It took deliberate throttle input and a straight, open interstate to get there.
The pursuit ended north east of Altoona when Billings allegedly steered the Chevrolet off the roadway and into a ditch, where it came to rest in a bean field. Both occupants, Billings and 18-year-old passenger Natalee Ryan, were taken into custody without further incident. Billings now faces felony eluding, first-degree theft of a motor vehicle, first-degree theft against an older individual, and multiple traffic violations. Ryan, despite reportedly just riding along, is also charged with first-degree theft against an older individual. Billings is held on a $41,151.52 bond; Ryan’s is set at $25,000.
Why A C6 Corvette Could Actually Hit That Speed
A 2007 Corvette isn’t some exotic halo car, but it’s plenty capable of outrunning a standard-issue patrol cruiser on open highway. The C6 generation of the Corvette came standard with a 6.0-liter LS2 V8 making 400 horsepower, good for a sub-4.5-second run to 60 mph and a top speed north of 180 mph depending on gearing and options. Hitting 140 mph on a flat, straight stretch of I-80 wasn’t a stretch for the car mechanically. It’s well within the envelope Chevy engineered into the car two decades ago.
That’s the real story here. Police tactics alone weren’t going to end this chase on the interstate. A stock Corvette at wide-open throttle simply has more top end than most patrol units are built to match in a straight-line pursuit. What actually stopped Billings wasn’t a PIT maneuver or a tire spike. It was running out of pavement. Rural Iowa highways don’t stay four-lane and arrow-straight forever, and once the Corvette left I-80’s corridor, the car’s performance advantage stopped mattering. A ditch and a bean field did what the deputy’s cruiser couldn’t.
A Bond He Probably Won’t See Posted Twice
The Jasper County Sheriff’s Office got assistance from the Iowa State Patrol, Colfax Police Department, and Prairie City Police Department during the pursuit. Billings and Ryan are both presumed innocent until proven guilty, but the timeline here is hard to ignore: bailed out on a Sunday, allegedly behind the wheel of his family’s stolen Corvette by Monday afternoon, and in a bean field doing 140 mph by Monday night. Whoever posted that first bond is probably not lining up to post the second one.
Source: Jasper County Sheriff’s Office
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