One man is in police custody after a probation violation resulted in an Interstate 79 police chase from Westover toward downtown Morgantown.
Westover Police Sgt. Hilling said the incident began when probation officers found the suspect, who was wanted for a probation violation, at the Sheetz gas station in downtown Morgantown.
“In him getting in his car and running from them, he dropped a firearm on the ground,” Hilling said. “And he got in his vehicle and took off.”
Hilling said Westover PD immediately began searching for the man because witnesses said he crossed Westover bridge into Westover.
The suspect was spotted shortly after by an officer near the Morgantown Mall, Hilling said.
“The gentleman then took off from us and got on I-79,” he said. “He got off at [Exit 1 of I-68] and as they were coming down the hill, our officer actually terminated the pursuit due to him heading into downtown Morgantown.”
Less than a minute after Westover officers ended the chase, the suspect crashed his vehicle into the embankment as he came down the hill near the entrance to Dorsey’s Knob Park, about one-quarter mile above the Get Go gas station, Hilling said.
“He hit the bank there and flipped,” the sergeant said. “He does have minor injuries, nothing major that we know of.”
No other vehicles became involved during the chase.
The suspect will likely be facing multiple charges, Hilling said, including “felony fleeing, two counts of possession with intent, because he had drugs shoved in parts of his body, and probably a whole slew of misdemeanor violations.”
Hilling said the suspect will also likely be charged with a felony or two from probation officers because of the firearm.
