Trending
A New York man faces more than a dozen charges after he led state police on a high speed chase, crashed his car and fled on foot, according to court documents.
State police on the Pennsylvania Turnpike attempted to make a traffic stop on a westbound red 2019 Honda Civic about 12:25 p.m. Sunday because the car was clocked going 90 mph in the 70 mph zone.
When police activated the lights and siren, the vehicle's speed increased, the report states. The driver, later identified as Robert Collazo Jr., 29, of Valley Stream, N.Y., exited at the Breezewood interchange ramp at a high rate of speed, made an illegal U-turn around the concrete barrier and continued westbound on the turnpike.
Collazo was traveling at a high rate of speed, passing other motorists on the berm and carelessly passing other motorists, the report states.
Police unsuccessfully deployed spike strips and the vehicle continued at a high rate of speed, went off the road near the New Enterprise plant and through the grass up a hill.
Collazo then lost control of the vehicle and the car rolled down a steep embankment, the report states.
Collazo left the vehicle and fled the scene on foot and despite searching the nearby woods, police were unable to locate him, court documents state.
An NFL logo Jets key lanyard was found in the grass and the vehicle was towed from the scene.
The report states that a strong odor of marijuana was coming from the vehicle.
A search warrant was executed on the vehicle to determine the driver's identity. During the search, police found numerous identification cards for Collazo -- school, work, union, a Visa bank card and a Polaroid photo.
The search also turned up several foil bags containing a small amount of marijuana and a metal grinder with residue, according to the report.
About 9:37 a.m. Monday, Collazo was spotted by a witness walking around a Snake Spring housing development. He told police Collazo was carrying a store bag, said his car broke down on the turnpike and he needed a ride to get back to the car. The witness told police Collazo said he needed to get to Pittsburgh, seemed to be in a hurry, was disheveled, dirty and had burrs on his clothes.
The witness offered to give Collazo a ride to the state police barracks in Bedford and while he was driving west on Route 30 near Autozone on the Mile Level, Collazo jumped out of the car and began heading toward the turnpike.
Based on the information found in the Civic that identified Collazo as the driver, police sought a warrant for his arrest.
Police eventually located Collazo and he was arraigned Monday night before Magisterial District Judge Tonya M. Osman on a felony charge of fleeing police, misdemeanor charges of recklessly endangering another person, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of a small amount of marijuana, and 14 summary traffic violations, including careless driving, reckless driving and abandoning a vehicle on the roadway.
Unable to post $100,000 bail, he was remanded to the Bedford County Correctional Facility. His preliminary hearing is set for Oct. 18 in Bedford County Central Court.