Driver fleeing police wrecks at mall entrance
CENTER TWP — A man fleeing police was involved in a hit-and-run accident at around 1 p.m. Thursday.
He was driving a four-door sedan heading north on Route 8 when he veered right over a median into the exit lane of Clearview Mall, where a man driving a Chevrolet Equinox was waiting at a stoplight.
Ryan Ramage, 33, of Butler was waiting to turn left out of the mall when he saw the car coming toward him.
“I just saw him coming and tried to scrunch to the passenger side of the vehicle, and when he hit me I was stuck between the door and the center console,” Ramage said.
The car plowed into the Equinox’s driver’s side door. According to Ramage, the man got out of his car and fled on foot. Police chased him and apprehended him around the nearby Ponderosa Steakhouse.
The identity of the man and the reason for the chase was not released by police. Police would not comment on the incident.
Ramage was not injured. The car suffered severe left-side damage and was towed. The intersection of the Clearview Mall’s entrance/exit and Route 8 was closed for about 45 minutes while debris from the accident was cleaned up and emergency responders waited for the tow truck to arrive.
State police, Butler police and Butler Township police, along with Unionville Volunteer Fire Department and Butler Ambulance, were on the scene.
