A Des Moines man was arrested in the woods south of Fort Dodge Monday morning after leading the Iowa State Patrol on a chase going over 120 mph.

Dylan Clark, 20, was apprehended in a wooded area north of Iowa State Patrol’s District 7 post after crashing off exit ramp 124 in his 2000 Mercedes Benz. The coupe left U.S. Highway 20 going about 125 to 130 mph, Trooper Kyle Kluender said.

Kluender initiated the traffic stop at about 10:30 a.m. on U.S. Highway 20 about three miles east of County Road P59 after clocking the westbound vehicle at 120 mph. Officers near Interstate 35 previously clocked Clark going 131 mph — more than double the posted 65 mph speed limit.

“Eventually he crashed because he slipped up the exit ramp at a high speed,” Kluender said, before bailing out of the vehicle and hiding in the woods.

The defendant’s vehicle’s brakes locked up just north of the exit after the three- to four-minute pursuit.

Fort Dodge Police Department officers, Webster County Sheriff’s Office deputies and Iowa Department of Natural Resources personnel helped set up a perimeter around the area Clark fled into, locating him after a 45-minute search with the help of K-9s.

He was found hiding underneath a tarp in a field just north of the wooded area.

The defendant was booked into the Webster County Jail on charges of driving without a license, interference with official acts, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of marjiuana and a stop sign violation.

Kluender said it appeared Clark never possessed a valid driver’s license.

With 30 years of experience in law enforcement, Kluender said the incident is part of a more troubling trend the ISP has noticed recently, with a dramatic increase in very high-speed violations.

In March, the ISP saw a 35% increase in speeding tickets issued for going at least 25 mph over the speed limit, compared to the four-year average, and a 40% increase in citations for drivers going over 100 mph.

“I don’t know what they’re doing, if they just don’t think they’re going to get stopped or if it’s because there’s less cars on the road,” he said. “People need to slow down because if something happens at that speed, it’s not going to be anything that turns out good for them.”

He said no amount of safety features in a car will save someone that goes into a ditch at such high speeds.

The Iowa Department of Transportation can suspend the licenses of those convicted of speeding at least 25 mph over the limit.