Jun 6, 2014 2 min read

A Union Township man was arrested Thursday night after he allegedly led police from Monongahela and other departments on a chase that started in Finleyville and went though surrounding communities.

William W. Smith Jr., 51, of 69 Stone Church Road, Gastonville, was taken into custody after officers boxed in his vehicle on Patterson Road in Union.

Police Chief Brian Tempest said an officer on patrol about 9 p.m. saw what appeared to be a drug transaction involving a woman standing outside a vehicle behind a bar on Route 88.

The officer ordered the woman to stop, but she ran into the bar. The driver of the Chevrolet Tracker, later identified as Smith, fled at a high rate of speed.

The officer followed Smith’s vehicle south on Route 88. The pursuit continued as Smith turned onto Airport Road, where he nearly forced an oncoming vehicle off the road, according to police. The chase continued onto Rankintown Road and Washington before turning onto a dirt road that paralleled railroad tracks.

As the chase continued back to Route 88, Finleyville-Elrama Road and Washington Avenue, a Carroll Township police officer tried to block Smith with his cruiser but Smith drove around and continued.

State police and officers from Southwest Regional and the state game commission joined the chase, forming a rolling roadblock until they stopped the Tracker.

Police said Smith struggled with officers as they tried to take him into custody.

Tempest said during the chase, it appeared Smith was trying to hide something under the seat but a preliminary search of the vehicle turned up nothing.

Smith was arraigned before District Judge Ethan Ward on charges of fleeing or attempting to elude police, reckless endangerment, driving under suspension, careless driving and reckless driving. He was placed in Washington County jail on $25,000 bond. A preliminary hearing is set for June 19 before District Judge James Ellis.