Jan 17, 2019 2 min read

WAYNESBURG – A high-speed chase on Interstate 79 that began near Waynesburg ended when the stolen car being pursued by state police crashed in Washington County early Wednesday morning.

State police on patrol in Franklin Township ran the vehicle’s license plate and learned it was reported stolen out of West Virginia, prompting troopers to attempt to stop the vehicle about 2 a.m., state police Trooper Robert Broadwater said. When the car did not stop, troopers pursued it for several miles in the northbound lanes of I-79.

Police said the driver of the vehicle turned off the car’s headlights and exited at Ruff Creek before driving through a stop sign at the intersection with Route 221 and entering the interstate again. The car continued north on I-79 before the driver attempted to exit at the Marianna interchange in Amwell Township, but careened over a hillside at the curved off-ramp, police said. No other vehicles were involved in the crash.

Broadwater said the pursuing trooper did not contact the vehicle with his cruiser or perform a tactical maneuver sometimes used by police to force a driver to lose control.

Two men and a 17-year-old boy were injured, although none suffered life-threatening injuries, Broadwater said. The men were taken to UPMC Presbyterian hospital in Pittsburgh for treatment, while the boy was transported to UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh.

William Lee Ross, 20, of Latrobe, and Doryian Dewayne Williams, 18, of White Haven were charged with receiving stolen property, criminal conspiracy, fleeing police and numerous traffic violations. State police did not identity the teenage boy, who is from Fairmont, W.Va.

Broadwater did not know who was driving the vehicle during the chase. He added juvenile probation of Greene County was contacted after the crash.