C
olumbus police arrested a driver after he crashed into a sheriff’s department patrol car and nearly hit a state trooper in a 45-minute chase early Saturday morning.
Lt. Matt Harris, spokesman for the police department, said an officer responded to a report of a possibly drunk driver near National Road and Washington Street. The officer gave chase to a vehicle that was weaving across lanes. The driver allegedly raced away, tried to drive into oncoming traffic and drove through tire-deflation devices placed by state police. A near-miss with a trooper’s car was followed by a crash into a Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department vehicle which forced the patrol car to then hit a tree. The deputy was uninjured, Harris said.
The driver stopped in the 1900 block of Wallace Avenue and ran away. 25-year-old Stephen D. Fields was arrested a short time later on preliminary charges including:
- Resisting Law Enforcement (Vehicle)
- Leaving the Scene of an Accident
- Resisting Law Enforcement (on Foot)
- Operating a Vehicle While Intoxicated
- Criminal Recklessness
- Possession of Methamphetamine
- Illegal Possession of a Syringe
- Aggressive Driving
- Reckless Driving