NORTH OLMSTED, Ohio — One man is in custody after an attempted traffic stop led to a pursuit on I-480 where a vehicle crashed into an Ohio State Highway Patrol cruiser, according to the North Olmsted Police Department.
At approximately 10 p.m. Wednesday, officers from the North Olmsted Police Department responded to a complaint of numerous cars causing a disturbance and driving recklessly in the RTA Park and Ride area along Great Northern Boulevard.
One vehicle failed to stop and fled the area. Officers blocked other vehicles from leaving the area, the news release stated.
Two vehicles drove up to officers who blocked off the driveway of the park and ride. The two vehicles accelerated toward officers who had to back away to avoid being hit, according to police.
The two vehicles then went up on the curb, into the grass and fled west onto I-480 from Great Northern Boulevard.
The two vehicles entered a construction zone and one of the vehicles crashed into an Ohio State Highway Patrol car that was parked with activated overhead lights, police said.
On dispatch recordings an officer said the car was traveling more than 100 miles an hour when it hit the trooper.
The state trooper, Sgt. Ronald Bornino, was working a construction detail at the time of the crash, was transported to a nearby hospital for minor injuries before being released.
Both vehicles involved in the crash with the cruiser were located unoccupied, one at the crash site and the other on Stearns Road triggering a manhunt through nearby neighborhoods.
"We saw flashlights and flood lights all through the woods behind our house," said Jan Reik who's lived in the normally-quiet Park Ridge Development for 36 years. "You could tell they were looking for somebody."
A male was eventually located in the surrounding neighborhood and was taken into custody by North Olmsted police.
Police said the second driver has not been found.
Reik said she hopes an arrest comes soon, after an uneasy night.
"You worry that they're going to come and try to get in your house or hide in your yard or something and you don't want that," said Reik. "You don't want somebody to get hurt over that either.
One of the vehicles involved was stolen.
Police said further information will be released if and when the male is charged.
Parma police are also investigating if one of the cars involved in Wednesday night's chase is the same car that ran from officers in that city Sunday.
Parma police said they tried stopping the green Dodge Charger for reckless driving.
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