A 31-year-old Canton woman was arrested Saturday night after refusing to pull over, taking police on a chase and crashing into an Ohio State Highway Patrol Cruiser.
According to the Ohio State Highway Patrol, the Strasburg Police Department received a call regarding a wrong-way driver driving south in the northbound lanes of Interstate 77 from Canton. Upon identifying the car, a 2009 Chevrolet Impala, officers attempted a traffic stop. The car did not stop, and a pursuit ensued.
The car switched directions and traveled north on I-77 towards Canton when the Canton Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol was called to assist and became the primary agency in the pursuit. The pursuit went from State Route 241, exited onto Lillian Gish Boulevard, continued east on Lincoln Way, and traveled south onto Tuscarawas Street, where a rolling roadblock was attempted to stop the car, police said.
The driver drove through the roadblock, hitting the rear of an OSHP cruiser. She continued through side streets and parking lots before taking I-77 south to U.S. 30 west and exiting onto Raff Road, where another rolling roadblock successfully caused the car to come to a stop, police said.
The woman was arrested without incident and taken into custody by the Strasburg Police Department.
Several recent crashes involving wrong-way drivers have resulted in injuries and deaths. In October, the Ohio Department of Transportation told News 5 that beginning this year, they would begin installing wrong-way driver detection systems in 25 locations on I-90/I-71 between West 140th Street and East 150th Street.
RELATED: ODOT moving forward with detection system to help prevent wrong-way crashes
