WILLOUGHBY HILLS, Ohio — The driver who ran from police in the eastern suburbs of Cleveland is still on the loose.
It was just before the morning rush Tuesday when Euclid Police got a call about a stolen car.
Watch our report on the chase for more details on what happened:
The chase is one of several police pursuits News 5 Investigators have told you about in the last six months.
A state lawmaker wants to toughen consequences for people who run.
Willoughby Hills Police Chief Matt Naegele says in recent years, he’s noticed police pursuits have increased.
"Generally speaking there’s not a day that I don’t hear radio traffic either my officers or scanned radio traffic from a nearby jurisdiction announcing over the radio that someone’s fled them on a traffic stop,” Naegele said.
Naegele said chases are generally risky and unpredictable.
“You hear the words police pursuit and you immediately think about the dangers that are involved with it,” Chief Naegele said.
Dangers, Chief Naegele said, to officers making split-second decisions to chase and to innocent drivers.
“I did not see this car flying down Broadview,” said Cary Pekarcsik.
Nearly two weeks ago, surveillance video captured Parma chasing a car that smashed into Pekarcsik’s van in Cleveland’s Old Brooklyn neighborhood.
Pekarcsik is okay, but his van isn’t.
“I was kind of shaken wondering now what are you going to do,” Pekarcsik said.
Watch Investigator Tara Morgan's full report on this pursuit — the fourth such chase in Old Brooklyn in six months - and another that ended with an innocent driver taking the brunt of it:
RELATED: Fourth Parma pursuit into Old Brooklyn captured on camera; driver hits van in traffic
State Representative Phil Plummer wants people who run to think twice.
As part of his street take-over legislation, House Bill 56 would increase penalties for running.
"There’s not enough consequence right now, so people are running,” Plummer said.
Right now, running from the police is a misdemeanor.
Plummer wants a fourth-degree felony and a third-degree felony if someone gets seriously hurt or there’s serious property damage.
That would mean possible prison time, and, Plummer said, there's the potential to forfeit your car.
“This has to stop, you know,” Plummer said.
The bill would also mandate pursuit policies for all police departments in Ohio.
‘’We're not telling you what the policy should be, but everybody needs to know it and needs to train on it,” Plummer said.
Willoughby Hills police have a pursuit policy, and the chief said all pursuits are reviewed.
“We train them in pursuit driving. You trust these officers to take an oath and do the job well,” Naegele said.
Naegele likes the idea of adding teeth to the law.
“I don’t see a downside to it, especially in today's day and age where criminals tend to have a lack of regard for everyone else around them but themselves; they’re willing to put people in harm's way,” Naegele said.
He says there’s no situation where people should decide to run.
“I think we have to draw a hard line somewhere,” Naegele said.
The House bill is in the Senate judiciary committee. Plummer said there will be two more readings before it can be voted out of committee.
