The Ohio State Highway Patrol was involved in a pursuit with a vehicle on Interstate 71 early Sunday morning.
Around 3:07 a.m., troopers were checking a rest area when they approached a vehicle, smelled marijuana and asked the driver for his ID. The driver refused to give his ID, fled in his vehicle and troopers initiated a pursuit, according to OSHP.
After following the vehicle for several miles, a trooper observed the vehicle exiting I-71 at Snow Road. Shortly after the vehicle exited the highway, troopers ended the pursuit. A few minutes later, troopers observed the vehicle reentering I-71 and attempted to stop the vehicle again. When the driver failed to stop, troopers re-initiated the pursuit.
The driver exited I-71 at Pearl Road, traveling south. Troopers had deployed stop sticks on the road, disabling the front two tires of the vehicle. The driver continued fleeing in the damaged vehicle for several miles, hitting another set of stop sticks.
Driving on three rims, the driver continued to flee troopers, who eventually used a PIT maneuver to stop the vehicle, which veered off the side of the road and crashed. Troopers were able to take two occupants into custody. They were taken to local hospitals with minor injuries, OSHP said.
During the pursuit, the suspects threw a duffel bag out of the vehicle. Troopers recovered the bag and found various IDs and credit cards inside.
The suspects have refused to cooperate with authorities and refused to give their identities. Investigators are working to identify both suspects in custody.
The incident remains under investigation.
