BUCKHANNON – An Upshur County man was arrested Sunday after allegedly fleeing from a traffic stop.
Christopher Chidester, 30, of Buckhannon, was arrested for fleeing recklessly, a felony.
According to the criminal complaint in the Upshur County Magistrate Clerk’s Office filed by Cpl. Tyler Gordon with the Upshur County Sheriff’s Office, on Sunday, June 11, Gordon saw a motorcycle traveling north on Route 20 in Hodgesville in Upshur County.
The vehicle displayed no registration plate, so Gordon attempted to initiate a traffic stop on the above vehicle near the Hodgesville Elementary School on Teter Road. However, the suspect allegedly increased speed rapidly, fleeing from Gordon and failed to pull over.
Gordon activated his siren, along with his already-activated emergency blue lights, but the suspect allegedly continued to flee at speeds exceeding 70 miles per hour. The driver, later identified as Chidester, also allegedly crossed into the oncoming lane of travel in blind curves and passed a vehicle on a double-yellow line in a blind curve before turning onto Herb Streets Road from Murphy Station Road.
According to the report, the vehicle allegedly continued to flee recklessly on a single-lane gravel road, causing rocks to strike Gordon’s patrol vehicle. The suspect crashed and was later apprehended near the site of the crash and identified as Chidester.
Upshur County Magistrate Alan Suder set bail at $15,000 cash only.
The penalty for a conviction of fleeing recklessly is a fine of not less than $1,000 nor more than $2,000 and imprisonment for not less than one year nor more than five years.
