The 17-year-old driver who caused a multi-car accident with a stolen car following a police chase was found near White Hall Sunday, according to a press release from the university.
The chase began when the driver failed to stop at a traffic stop between Water Street and Main Street in Kent, according to a press release issued by the Portage County Sheriff’s office. A Portage County deputy issued the stop after a registration check on the vehicle listed the car as stolen.
The deputy followed the car on State Highway 59 into Franklin Township and stopped the pursuit as it headed toward Ravenna due to “excessive speeds of the stolen vehicle,” the sheriff’s release said.
After a receiving a tip the driver was around Main Street in Ravenna, a deputy on patrol in Ravenna attempted a traffic stop on the vehicle, but another chase began back toward Kent.
“The driver of the stolen vehicle then struck several vehicles stopped at the red light on Main Street at Luther Avenue,” according to the sheriff’s release. “The stolen vehicle continued through the red light at Luther Avenue but sustained disabling damage. The stolen vehicle came to rest on Main Street in the west bound lane.”
Three people were in the stolen car, according to the release, and they each fled the scene on foot. The male passenger was found on Main Street in Kent, and the male driver was located near White Hall on Front Campus. The identify of the female passenger is still unknown, as of the Monday morning sheriff’s release.
The driver was reported missing out of Wooster and “had several warrants for his arrest and did not have a valid drivers license.” He is in the Portage County Juvenile Detention Center on multiple charges, according to the sheriff’s release.
The 18-year-old male passenger, now in Portage County Jail, is charged with one count of Obstructing Official Business, the sheriff’s release said.
“Kent State University Police and the Ohio State Highway Patrol assisted in the aftermath of the incident,” the university’s Sunday release said.
Isabella Schreck is editor-in-chief. Contact her at [email protected].
