Driver involved in North Strabane chase sought
North Strabane Township police are looking for the driver of a stolen car who led them on a chase Tuesday night before crashing and then running from the scene minus a shoe.
Officer Daniel O’Leary was monitoring traffic near the intersection of South Central Avenue and Route 519 about 11:40 p.m. when he saw a car fail to stop, said Lt. Kris Wagstaff. The driver of the car, a gray 2007 Chevrolet Impala, did not brake before going through the intersection, police said.
Wagstaff said the car continued south on Route 519. O’Leary noticed the license plate expired in March 2015. The car then went north on Route 19, with O’Leary activating the emergency lights and siren on his cruiser. O’Leary continued to follow the car as it turned onto Linden Road.
The car weaved in and out of its lane as it crossed the intersection with Linden Creek Road. O’Leary lost sight of the car as it went around a curve, and the officer found it crashed in the 800 block of Linden.
The driver, a white man wearing black shorts, fled on foot and jumped over a fence into a field, ignoring orders to stop. At one point, the driver fell down but got back up and continued to run before disappearing into a wooded area. Officer Matthew Mancini and his K-9, Drago, searched the area but were unable to locate the driver. The area off Linden, Ross and Long roads was searched for about an hour and a half, Wagstaff said. Police did find a black tennis shoe in the field the suspect apparently lost during his run.
Canonsburg police contacted the registered owner of the vehicle about 12:30 a.m. Wednesday and found him asleep at his home on Selwyn Avenue in Strabane. He told borough police he had not driven the car for more than a year and allowed the registration and insurance to lapse. He said the brakes on it did not work and the keys were tucked in the visor.
Also found in the car was a license plate that apparently was stolen from a vehicle parked on Franklin Avenue in Canonsburg earlier that night, as well as a bottle of anabolic steroids.
Anyone who might have seen a suspicious person in the Linden or Strabane areas Tuesday night is asked to call police at 724-746-8474.