BUCYRUS—A high-speed pursuit ended in a one-vehicle crash when a 20-year-old Bucyrus man fled from a traffic stop Sunday evening.
At around 8:48 p.m., Lt. Tom Walker initiated the traffic stop after a speeding vehicle pulled out in front of his cruiser on East Mansfield Street.
According to Walker, a 16-year-old male juvenile, a passenger in the vehicle, attempted to exit the car when it was stopped in front of Carle’s Bratwurst but the driver suddenly took off.
The chase went from East Mansfield Street then over to Woodlawn Avenue. The vehicle drove down several streets before traveling the wrong way down the one-way South East Street. The driver then went down Lane Street to Galen and eventually ended up on West Mary Street where he almost hit another motorist at an intersection.
“He was driving between 50 and 80 miles per hour in the city,” Walker said.
The vehicle then headed out County Road 330, reaching speeds of nearly 100 miles per hour, when the driver lost control near Holmes Center Road. The vehicle went off the south side of the roadway on County Road 330 then came back onto the road. While the vehicle was still rolling, the tires began to simultaneously slide laterally, leaving yaw marks on County Road 330 before traveling backward across Holmes Center Road and landing in a ditch near Wynford’s athletic field. There was heavy damage to the rear of the vehicle after it hit a power pole.
The driver suffered serious injuries and was taken by Portsmouth Ambulance to Bucyrus Community Hospital while the juvenile only suffered minor injuries. He was taken from the scene by a family member and may seek treatment later.
Walker said the driver, whose name is not being released since he has not yet been officially charged, was driving under suspension. The Bucyrus Post of the State Highway Patrol is handling the investigation of the crash and the Crawford County Sheriff’s Office, Lohr’s Towing and Recovery and the Holmes Township Fire Department also assisted at the scene.