Man accused of fleeing from Franklin police

From staff reports

An Oil City man is facing charges after he allegedly fled from police on his dirt bike around 4 p.m. Thursday on the Franklin/Oil City bike trail.

A criminal complaint filed through District Judge Andrew Fish’s office said Franklin police attempted a traffic stop on a Kawasaki dirt bike, but the driver, later identified as 37-year-old Jamie Sprague, failed to stop.

Sprague traveled from the 600 and 700 blocks of Elk Street, turning on the Eighth Street bridge and traveling onto the bike trail.

The dirt bike reached speeds of 70 mph and showed a complete disregard for the safety of others using the bike trail, the complaint said.

Sprague eventually stopped and surrendered to police on Osborne Street in Oil City.

He is facing a felony count of fleeing or attempting to elude an officer, a misdemeanor count of recklessly endangering another person and five summary counts related to traffic violations.

Sprague was arraigned before Fish and placed in the Venango County jail on $25,000 bail.

A preliminary hearing is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday in Central Court.