CHASE ENDS WITH CAR ON FIRE

Sheffield Village – What started as a routine traffic stop attempt turned out to be a chase where a State Trooper was almost struck and the suspect’s car caught on fire.

Sergeant Ryan Lloyd of the Sheffield Village Police Department said one of his Officers attempted a traffic stop in the Village early Sunday morning. “It’s still early and I am not sure what the initial stop was for but the driver took off on the Officer leading him on this chase.”

Sgt. Lloyd said the pursuit went through South Lorain, south on 57 into Elyria and west on 113 into Elyria Township. It was at the intersection of Route 113 and West Ridge Road that Trooper AJ Torres of the State Patrol was able to throw out a set of Stop Sticks and successfully puncture a rear tire on the suspect vehicle. There was some radio traffic, according to Lloyd, that the suspect vehicle almost struck Trooper Torres in the intersection.

With a flat tire the suspect continued to roll on three wheels up West Ridge Road with the Police, now including help from the Lorain County Sheriff’s Department and the Highway Patrol, following close behind.

The suspect got onto Route 2 from Middle Ridge Road with pieces of tire crumbling off the rim and sparks flying out from the under the car. Once on the highway and with no rubber left on the tire the sparks turned to flames. As the car went from 60MPH to 5MPH the flames started to consume the vehicle.

Police Officers, through their car PA system, were yelling to the suspect to stop and get out of the burning car. Seeing that the suspect was not stopping and with the smoke and flames growing, a State Trooper raced in front of the suspect vehicle to stop him.

Once the car was stopped the man jumped from the car and attempted to run across the median. The man was apprehended in the median by Sheffield Village Police Officers and the State Trooper.

The westbound lanes of Route 2 were closed for about 40 minutes while Firefighters extinguished the blaze and Steve’s Towing removed the car and debris from the roadway.

The suspect was not being very forthcoming with Officers about who he was. Sgt. Lloyd said that the incident is under investigation and once they confirm his identity they will release it and the list of charges that he will face.


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