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Burglary suspect drives through pole
By DANNY RESTIVO
Girard
A burglary suspect is in custody after he drove through a wooden electrical pole while being pursued by police.
Police Chief Jeff Palmer said the suspect burglarized a home on the west side of the city near Church Hill-Hubbard Road about 12:30 p.m. Thursday. He said the burglar was interrupted by the homeowner before he fled east in an SUV. The vehicle then hit a wooden utility pole, at the corner of Church Hill- Hubbard Road and Ward Avenue and snapped it in half. The top end of the pole was left suspended by electrical wiring.
“I was just sitting inside watching TV when I heard a loud boom and my power went off,” said Malcom Myers, who lives across the street from where the incident occurred. He said a car accident occurred Wednesday at the same location, but Thursday’s scene proved more shocking.
“When I saw that, I thought, ‘No regular car should be able to run through a pole like that,’” he said.
Myers said the vehicle came to rest about three houses from where the wooden pole stood, and the front end was completely smashed in. He said he saw the man get out of the vehicle and begin to flee while two other men chased after him.
“I hear a loud boom, and the power clicked off,” said Brian Griffith, who lives at the corner of Church Hill-Hubbard and Ward. He said he went to the window of his house and saw two men chasing after the suspect before he was apprehended by police.
No other information was available Thursday night.