BUCKHANNON – A Taylor County man was arrested over the weekend for allegedly fleeing from law enforcement at speeds of 60 mph through the City of Buckhannon, despite a passenger in his vehicle complaining of chest pain.
Christopher Taylor, 45, of Grafton W.Va., was arrested Saturday, Dec. 14 for fleeing with reckless indifference, a felony.
According to the criminal complaint in the Upshur County Magistrate Clerk’s Office filed by investigating officer Patrolman Donald Kraemer with the Buckhannon Police Department, on Dec. 14, Kraemer attempted to initiate a traffic stop on a gray Ford Thunderbird on Buckhannon Crossroads for a defective equipment violation.
According to the report, upon initiating emergency lights, the vehicle drove through the Walmart parking lot and allegedly began to accelerate. The vehicle then exited the parking lot by the Crossroads Recycling Center and entered the Buckhannon Crossroads driving eastbound in the westbound lanes.
The complaint says the vehicle continued to gain speed and turned north in the southbound lane of Route 20 until it cut through four lanes to turn onto Morton Avenue. The vehicle then continued eastbound on Morton Avenue, allegedly reaching speeds of 60 mph and driving on both sides of the road. Upon approaching the intersection of Fourth Street and Morton Avenue, the vehicle allegedly aggressively braked, nearly causing Kraemer to collide into the rear of the vehicle, the file says.
The vehicle then made a sharp right-hand turn onto Fourth Street and wrecked into a ditch. The driver of the vehicle, Taylor, then allegedly exited the vehicle and began running on foot. Deputy Joseph with the Upshur County Sheriff’s Department arrived on scene and discovered there was a passenger in the vehicle who was complaining of chest pains. The passenger of the vehicle also told Kraemer he asked Taylor to stop and “even physically attempted to make him stop,” Kraemer wrote in the report.
Taylor was arrested, and Magistrate Kay Hurst set bond at $15,000 cash or surety.
The penalty for a conviction of fleeing with reckless indifference is a fine between $1,000 and $2,000 and confinement in the state penitentiary for one to five years.
