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WESTLAKE, Ohio – A 36-year-old Lorain man is facing OVI, felony fleeing, felony drug possession, and speeding charges after leading Westlake police officers on a high-speed chase that ended when his pickup truck rolled over. Officers at 1:10 a.m. Nov. 6 spotted a red Ford Ranger driving over 70 mph in a 35 mph zone on Center Ridge Road. After the truck didn’t even slow down for a red light at Bradley Road, the officers tried to stop the pickup due to its reckless and dangerous operation. The driver ignored the police cruiser’s lights and sirens and continued into North Ridgeville. Officers pursued the truck westbound on Center Ridge to Lear Nagle Road as it weaved over the lane lines and ignored stop signs, according to a police department press release. The truck fled northbound on Lear Nagle and then back eastbound on Mills Road before reentering Westlake on eastbound Center Ridge Road. Looking for an opportunity to bring a dangerous vehicle pursuit to an end, Westlake officers performed a PIT (pursuit intervention technique) maneuver as the Ford slowed down after turning southbound on Bradley. A PIT maneuver is a police tactic used to end a vehicle pursuit by gently tapping the fleeing vehicle’s rear bumper, causing it to lose traction and spin out in a controlled manner. The intervention, along with the driver’s reaction, caused the Ford Ranger to roll over as it struck a parked and unoccupied work van in a parking lot of a business on Center Ridge Road at Bradley Road. The driver was not wearing a seat belt, and he quickly fled from the upside-down pickup, according to the police department. Officers chased the suspect a short distance on foot before taking him into custody. After the man was evaluated at a local hospital, officers took him to the Westlake jail. The driver told officers that he fled because his truck had expired license plates, and he had cocaine, heroin, and fentanyl in his possession. The narcotics, scales, and numerous cut-off straws and burnt tin foil were entered into evidence. A police spokesman in a written press release said that prosecutors may ask a Cuyahoga County grand jury to consider bringing additional charges in connection with the drugs that police officers recovered. Get police blotters by email every weekday for free with our new Police Blotter newsletter. Sign up at cleveland.com/newsletters.
