Man charged for driving into rear of police car

YOUNGSTOWN — A 28-year-old Russell Street man who police said drove into back end of a parked cruiser was arraigned today in municipal court on charges of driving under the influence and reckless operation.

John A. Brajer will be back in court Nov. 4 for a pretrial hearing. The crash happened around 12:05 a.m. Saturday in the 2700 block of Oakwood Avenue. Patrolmen Jerry Fulmer and Shakir Perkins were headed back to the cruisers after responding to a call when they saw a Ford Explorer traveling eastbound on Oakwood at a high rate of speed, reports show.

The Ford struck the back of Fulmer’s cruiser, causing heavy damage to the trunk, and the impact pushed it into the back of Perkins’ cruiser. The marked cars had their flashers on, police said.

Brajer pulled to the side of the road in front of the police cars and stumbled out of his vehicle, telling police he had four beers. He was taken to St. Elizabeth Health Center to treat a cut on his head and to have blood drawn for a blood-alcohol concentration test. Brajer’s vehicle was towed from the crash scene, as was the cruiser that had the most damage.