A 24-year-old Grand Island man was jailed on a felony charge after an apparent argument with a female ended with him driving through North Platte streets with the woman hanging from the side of his vehicle.

At around 12:42 a.m., on December 18, officers responded to a disturbance in the 900 block of South Bryan Avenue.

It was reported that a male and female were arguing when the male got into a pickup and drove off with the female hanging from the side.

Officers arrived in the area and followed a pickup that they believed was involved in the disturbance. When the vehicle pulled into a parking lot, a male subject, later identified as Richard Kumke, exited the vehicle and indicated that he had been involved in an argument with his girlfriend.

A short time later, the North Platte 911 Center received a call from the female, who told dispatchers that she had gotten into an argument with her boyfriend and was calling from a residence in the 1500 block of East Philip.  She stated that she had climbed onto the running board of the pickup in an attempt to prevent Kumke from driving because he had been drinking.

However, instead of stopping, Kumke allegedly continued to drive northbound on Bryan Avenue, then eastbound on Philip, with the female still clinging to the side.

At some point, the female fell off the vehicle, losing her phone.  Investigator John Deal says the woman ran to a stranger’s house and contacted the police.

According to Deal, officers investigated and found a disturbance in the snow near the intersection of Philip Avenue and Belmont Street. They also located the victim’s phone at this location and determined that this is the location where she had fallen off of the vehicle.

The victim was transported to Great Plains Health for the treatment of an injury to the back of her head.

Kumke, who reportedly failed a series of field sobriety tests, was transported to the Lincoln County Detention Center and charged with driving under the influence of liquor-2nd offense and felony leaving the scene of an accident.

The extent of the woman’s injuries is unknown.