State police chase ends near BG as driver flees on foot and patrol car is hit by semi – BG Independent News

An Ohio State Patrol pursuit ended just south of Bowling Green this morning. The driver reportedly fled on foot and a patrol vehicle was struck by a truck.

Bowling Green Police officers arrested the suspect near County Home Road.

At 6:36 a.m., a Lima County police officer attempted to stop a Hyundai Elantra for allegedly going 86 mph in a 70 mph zone on northbound Interstate 75 in Allen County. The vehicle did not stop and a pursuit ensued.

The pursuit ended near County Road 99 in Hancock County when the vehicle entered a construction zone. Officers resumed pursuit of the vehicle when it was outside the work zone.

Officers blocked the road near Ohio 613, where the suspect vehicle stopped briefly before fleeing.

At 6:58 a.m., the suspect vehicle pulled into the rest area just south of US 6 in Wood County and crashed on the north side of the parking lot. The driver is said to have fled on foot. An officer attempted to drive into the northbound driveway of the rest area when his Dodge Charger patrol car was struck by a northbound semi-tractor trailer.

The suspect, identified as Jaevon L. Johnson, 22, Detroit, was apprehended by BGPD Lt. Dan Mancuso and Lt. Adam Skaff. Johnson did not resist arrest, Skaff said.

Both the truck driver and the officer were taken by ambulance to Wood County Hospital with minor, but not life-threatening, injuries.

Johnson was believed to be under the influence and suspected drugs were found in his vehicle. Johnson was booked into the Wood County Jail for failure to comply with an order or signal of a police officer, a felony of the third degree. Additional charges are pending.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol received assistance from the Bowling Green Police Department, the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office and the Wood County Sheriff’s Office.

The incident is still under investigation.

Posted by: Jan Larson McLaughlin on June 27, 2024.