An Oil City man is facing charges for fleeing from police Tuesday in a 15-mile chase from Oil City to Oakland Township.
Franklin state police said in a criminal complaint that at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, a trooper on patrol in the area of Cooper Avenue and Clarion Street in Oil City noticed a black pickup truck with an expired inspection driven by Sean Johnson, 52.
The trooper saw the vehicle slide into the intersection of Cooper Avenue and Spruce Street, almost not making the turn due to its high speed, and he activated his emergency lights in an effort to stop the vehicle, the complaint said.
The vehicle continued into Cornplanter Township on Union Street, fishtailing due to the ice covering the road, the complaint said. Johnson’s vehicle then made a right turn from Rynd Farm Road onto Route 428 and continued at over 70 miles an hour, the complaint said.
The complaint notes that Johnson committed “multiple egregious traffic violations” and “left the single lane of travel multiple times” during the pursuit.
When Johnson was taken into custody, police found that he had multiple warrants and an active DUI suspension on his license, the complaint said.
Johnson was charged with a felony count of fleeing or attempting to elude an officer, a misdemeanor count of recklessly endangering another person and nine summary traffic violations.
He was arraigned Tuesday and placed in the Venango County jail with bail denied due to him being a “threat risk.” His preliminary hearing is scheduled Wednesday in Central Court.
