NORTH OLMSTED, Ohio — Two people were charged and more charges may be forthcoming after North Olmsted police were involved in a chase Saturday afternoon.
According to police, an officer was watching traffic on County Club Boulevard near the La Quinta hotel around 1:15 p.m., when a silver Ford 500 was driving east.
The license plate showed the owner of the car had a warrant for his arrest and a suspended license. There were four people inside the vehicle.
Police attempted to catch up with the car when the driver merged onto I-480 westbound.
The driver was driving with the flow of traffic but continued to switch lanes without using his turn signal, according to police.
Police said during the pursuit, a passenger on the right side of the car threw what appeared to be a gun out of the window, but it turned out to be rounds of ammunition that were later found scattered along the side of the road. The gun was later found inside of the glove box. A 9mm magazine was recovered on the side of the highway after the crash.
At this point in the chase, the driver of the vehicle sped up to 90 mph.
As the driver of the car approached the turnpike, a semi-truck entered the toll booth and blocked the Ford from being able to enter the turnpike, which caused the car to drive into the grassy area next to the booth, according to police.
An officer that was following the truck slid on the grass and bumped into the rear of the vehicle.
All four passengers inside the car complied with officers and were handcuffed.
The driver of the vehicle was charged with failure to comply. He said the marijuana inside of the vehicle was his, although it was found inside of the pockets of another passenger.
A passenger in the vehicle told police the gun inside the car was his brother's who was recently shot and that he had it for protection. He was charged with having a weapon under disability.
Another passenger in the vehicle was found with possible drugs in his pockets but will not be charged with anything until a lab tests the drugs, police said.
The fourth passenger in the vehicle was released with no charges.
No injuries were reported.
