COLUMBUS — A police officer was injured after a crash involving a vehicle that fled a traffic stop early Wednesday.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
The Columbus Division of Police told our news partners WBNS-10 TV that they were notified just before 1:20 a.m. of an incident in the area of Interstate 70 East and Interstate 71 near downtown.
According to the Ohio State Highway Patrol (OSHP), its chopper observed suspicious activity involving the suspect vehicle.
TRENDING STORIES:
- Temporary road closures expected in Vandalia this weekend for Presidential visit
- Rusty Taco closing Beavercreek location
- Daughter of actor Chad Lowe, Kim Painter dies at 13
A trooper then tried to stop the vehicle, but the car drove off. The OSHP said they did not pursue the suspect vehicle, but were checking the area for it.
At 1:38 a.m., OSHP said the suspect vehicle then exited an alley north of West Broad Street along North Central Avenue and struck a Columbus police cruiser.
The cruiser had been in the area searching for the suspect vehicle, but did not have lights and sirens activated, an OSHP sergeant told WBNS-10 TV.
The suspect vehicle also struck a utility pole.
OSHP said the officer in the cruiser was taken to an area hospital as a precaution. Columbus police t described the officer’s condition as “stable.”
Two people were in the suspect vehicle, and neither was taken to an area hospital, OSHP said.
A sergeant told WBNS-10 TV the male driver faces several charges related to felony fleeing, lane violations, marijuana, and driving without a license. The suspect was not identified.
[SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]