CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A Lincoln County man is in custody following a pursuit through two counties overnight Tuesday into Wednesday that included a crash into a Charleston Police Cruiser.
According to the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Department (KCSD), Bradley Owen Ellis, 33 of Harts, was arrested. Ellis was stopped for an initial traffic stop on Campbells Creek Drive near Malden, but as the deputy approached to speak with the occupants the vehicle fled north.
The car pulled into a gas station where a passenger began to exit the vehicle as the deputy sheriff caught up. With the door open and the passenger partially out of the vehicle Ellis quickly pulled away, the sheriff’s office said. The passenger remained in the vehicle and the door closed again.
The vehicle fled onto I-64 toward Charleston, passing illegally on the shoulders of the road, and at high rates of speed.
According to the KCSD, the vehicle stopped at another gas station in Charleston where two female passengers exited the car. The vehicle then drove off and the pursuit resumed.
The fleeing vehicle then struck a Charleston Police Cruiser near Bigley Avenue but continued driving. The vehicle fled south on US 119 into Boone County where it ran out of gas and came to a stop, KCSD said. That’s when Ellis was taken into custody.
KCSD charged Ellis through Boone County Magistrate Court with fleeing with reckless indifference, fleeing while driving under the influence (DUI), driving with a license revoked for DUI 3rd offense, and DUI.
No one was injured in the pursuit or crash in Charleston. Charleston PD, Boone County Sheriff’s Office, and the West Virginia State Police assisted in the pursuit.
According to KCSD, additional charges may be filed by Charleston PD relating to the crash involving a cruiser.