LAKE GENEVA, WI — Police in Walworth County have released dashcam video from an August pursuit that began in Lake Geneva and ended after a vehicle entered Lake Como. The footage shows officers trying to stop the car late at night after noticing a passenger hanging partly out of the vehicle without a seatbelt.

According to the Lake Geneva Police Department, the driver kept going, leading officers through city streets and into the Town of Geneva before the vehicle drove into the lake through the boat launch on Schofield Drive. Officers say the car traveled about 100 feet into the water before stopping.

Police say the pursuit began after a traffic violation near Broad and Wrigley

Lake Geneva police say the encounter started just after 11 p.m. near Broad and Wrigley. Officers attempted a stop after seeing a passenger hanging out of the vehicle and not wearing a seatbelt, a violation that drew their attention before the chase began.

When the driver failed to pull over, police say the vehicle went the wrong way on a one-way street and accelerated. Officers reported that the car then ran multiple traffic signals while fleeing through the area. Those moves pushed the pursuit beyond the city limits and into neighboring roads in Geneva Township territory.

The department’s video release adds a visual timeline to the sequence that had already been outlined in police records and public statements. It shows how quickly the initial traffic stop escalated into a longer run ending at the lakeshore.

Vehicle entered Lake Como through the Schofield Drive boat launch

The chase came to an abrupt end when the vehicle entered Lake Como via the boat launch on Schofield Drive. Police said the car continued about 100 feet into the lake before coming to a stop with its taillights still visible in the water.

The location mattered because it gave the occupants a way out once the vehicle stopped moving. Officers said all four people inside were able to escape the car and swim toward a nearby pier. Police then helped them out of the water after they reached shore.

Bodycam and dashcam video obtained by FOX6 show the aftermath from the scene and help explain how the crash unfolded after the vehicle left the roadway and entered the lake.

All four occupants got out and were checked by emergency responders

Emergency medical services responded to the lakefront scene and evaluated all four people who had been inside the vehicle. Officials said two were taken to a hospital for medical treatment, while the other two declined additional care and signed off with EMS at the scene.

Police did not say what injuries, if any, the hospitalized occupants suffered. Even so, the response shows that the crash ended with emergency crews treating the incident as a serious water rescue as well as a pursuit investigation.

The scene involved both law enforcement and medical personnel, with officers assisting as the occupants came out of the water. The rapid transition from a chase to a rescue made the final moments especially dangerous for everyone involved.

18-year-old Delavan driver faces three reckless endangerment counts

Investigators identified the driver as Cash Rauscher, 18, of Delavan. He was charged with three counts of second-degree recklessly endangering safety and one count of fleeing or eluding an officer.

Court records show his cash bond was set at $10,000. The charges reflect both the alleged danger to the people in the vehicle and the decision to keep driving after officers tried to stop the car.

Police have not said whether the passengers face any charges. The department’s public release focused on the driver’s conduct and the sequence that led from a traffic stop attempt to a lake rescue.

Arraignment is scheduled for September 28 as police share video from the case

Rauscher’s arraignment is scheduled for Sept. 28. That hearing will be the next major court date in a case that has already drawn attention because of the unusual ending and the newly released video.

The Lake Geneva Police Department posted the information on its Facebook page, and FOX6 obtained bodycam and dashcam footage from the department. The release gives the public a closer look at a pursuit that moved from a late-night traffic stop to a submerged vehicle in Lake Como.

For local residents, the video underscores how a minor-looking stop can escalate quickly when a driver refuses to pull over. Police say the incident began with a seatbelt violation and ended with four people in the water and a criminal case now moving through court.