Man gets seven-year sentence in police chase that hurt woman

The driver injured a woman walking her dog.

WARREN — A North Bloomfield man was sentenced to seven years in prison for injuring a West Farmington woman Jan. 20, 2007, while trying to elude police officers.

Howard E. Boyd, 36, of 1895 E. Flag Road, North Bloomfield, pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated vehicular assault and single charges of assault on a peace officer, failure to stop after an accident and failure to comply with the order or signal of a police officer.

The Trumbull County Sheriff’s Department reported it first started chasing Boyd on state Route 45 after receiving a report that a vehicle matching the description of Boyd’s van had been involved in a theft at Quinn’s Market in North Bloomfield.

Boyd fled south on Route 45, turning west on Bristol-Champion Townline Road, where he hit a pedestrian, Lisa Allen of Geauga Portage Easterly Road, West Farmington, causing serious injuries.

Further down Bristol-Champion Townline Road, Boyd crashed the vehicle into a tree near state Route 534. Deputy Dario Poledica then arrested Boyd after he swung an elbow at the deputy. Boyd’s blood alcohol level was .181, more than twice the legal limit of .08, said Chris Becker, an assistant county prosecutor.

In court, Miriam Fife, the victim-witness advocate for Trumbull County, read a statement written by Allen describing the injuries Allen received that day while walking her dog, Buddy. Allen said she wakes up in pain every morning, has trouble walking and sitting and uses a wheelchair to go most places.

Deputies said the chase for Boyd began when a clerk at Quinn’s Market saw a man walk past the counter with two bottles of Irish Rose wine but leave only 75 cents there. The clerk gave police a description of the van in which the man departed.