High-speed chase leads to charges
SAXONBURG — A Butler County man is accused of leading police on a car chase that exceeded 100 mph after nearly crashing into another vehicle and forcing an officer's cruiser off the road.
No one was injured in the Aug. 4 pursuit that Saxonburg police ended due to excessive speeds.
The suspect, Walter Scott Kradel, 36, of Jefferson Township, managed to elude capture until his arrest Monday.
He is facing a list of felony and other charges while being held in Butler County Prison on $25,000 bail
Saxonburg Patrolman Jeffrey Sneddon said he was in his marked patrol car traveling west on West Main Street behind a minivan about 10 p.m. when he noticed an older model Hyundai Tiburon that was speeding in the opposing lane.
The driver of the Hyundai forced the minivan onto the sidewalk and Sneddon's cruiser onto nearby State Street, according to court documents.
The officer made a U-turn and activated his emergency lights and siren. The chase was on.
The suspect made a number of turns in town before his car headed out of the borough and into neighboring Clinton Township. Police said the Hyundai was clocked at 110 mph.
The driver subsequently turned east onto Route 228 and passed the Saxony Golf Course going 115 mph, documents said. The suspect eventually crossed into Buffalo Township, where Sneddon decided to call off the chase out of concern for public safety.
The next day, police happened upon the Hyundai, which was parked along Harvey Road at a home.
The homeowner told police the car was not his, but that he had seen and spoken to the man who had left it there between 10:45 and 11 p.m. Aug. 4.
Police believe the suspect abandoned the car after it overheated and broke down following the chase.
Sneddon on Aug. 7 got a search warrant for the Hyundai that led to its owner, who lives in Center Township. The owner admitted that he had loaned his car to Kradel.
On Aug. 23, police showed a photo array to the owner of the home where police had found the Hyundai. He picked Kradel's picture from the photo lineup.
District Judge Sue Haggerty on Tuesday arraigned the defendant on felony charges of aggravated assault and fleeing or attempting to elude police.
Additionally, he is charged with reckless endangerment, a misdemeanor and seven traffic violations including driving with a suspended license and driving at an unsafe speed.
Kradel's preliminary hearing is set for Sept. 20 at Haggerty's office in Saxonburg.
