Driver flees after high-speed chase

Published 6:51 pm Friday, March 30, 2012

Bainbridge Public Safety impounded an Oldsmobile Cutlass late Monday night after its driver sped away from officers who attempted to pull him over, according to an incident report.

Shortly after 11 p.m. Monday, Public Safety Officer Tom Foster was patrolling the portion of Sims Street, which is south of Shotwell Street, when he observed the Oldsmobile speeding at 46 mph in a 35-mph zone.

When Foster turned on his patrol car’s lights, the vehicle sped up and turned onto Green Street going west. The vehicle struck a curb as it made its turn and then proceeded to run through five stop signs without slowing or stopping as he approached Scott Street.

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“The vehicle was entering some of the intersections so fast that it was leaving the roadway and was temporarily airborne,” Officer Foster wrote in his report. “The driver was also weaving across the roadway and using both lanes of travel.”

“When the vehicle left the ground at the intersection of Green and Scott streets, the driver lost control and came to a stop at the intersection of Green and Fleming streets.”

The driver, described as a black male wearing white or light blue shorts and shirts, then bailed out of the vehicle and took off running south on Fleming Street.

BPS officers searched the vehicle and found an open can of beer in a cup holder, still cold to the touch. The officers also found three cell phones and a photo in the car, which were seized for evidence.

The vehicle has not been reported stolen, nor has the owner-operator come forward to claim the vehicle. The case remains active.