Charges filed after suspect rams Dayton police cruiser, pursuit ends in crash

3 taken to hospital with minor injuries; suspect faces 8 felony charges.
The driver of a gray Lexus fled a traffic stop and then intentionally rammed a Dayton officer's cruiser, which led to a police pursuit  in east Dayton that ended in a crash at the intersection of Murray Drive and East Fourth Street when the suspect car collided with a silver car that struck a U.S. Postal Service van.. The suspect ran but was caught by officers a couple blocks away and is in custody. Jim Noelker/Staff

Credit: Jim Noelker

Credit: Jim Noelker

The driver of a gray Lexus fled a traffic stop and then intentionally rammed a Dayton officer's cruiser, which led to a police pursuit in east Dayton that ended in a crash at the intersection of Murray Drive and East Fourth Street when the suspect car collided with a silver car that struck a U.S. Postal Service van.. The suspect ran but was caught by officers a couple blocks away and is in custody. Jim Noelker/Staff

The driver of a gray Lexus with Kentucky plates fled a traffic stop Thursday afternoon and then intentionally rammed an officer’s cruiser before a police chase ended in a crash involving three vehicles in Dayton.

Dayton police Sgt. Theodore Trupp said the suspect drove off from a traffic stop but was spotted around 12:50 p.m. by another officer in an alley at Livingston and Barstow avenues. The suspect rammed the cruiser to get away. The officer was not injured, but the act was a felonious assault so police initiated a chase that carried along several streets throughout east Dayton, he said.

“The suspect ultimately evaded the officers and when he came to Murray (Drive) and (East) Fourth Street, failed to stop at the required stop sign and collided with another vehicle that was traveling eastbound on Fourth Street,” Trupp said.

The impact forced the silver car struck by the Lexus to crash into a U.S. Postal Service van.

“The suspect did flee on foot. He was captured two blocks away by patrol officers,” Trupp said.

The suspect, a woman riding in his car and the driver of the silver car were taken to Miami Valley Hospital with injuries described as minor. The letter carrier was not injured but the postal van sustained minor damage to the front end, the sergeant said.

The car involved in the pursuit had a Lyft sticker in the rear windshield but it is not clear whether the suspect is a driver for the rideshare service.

Trupp said it was not immediately clear why the suspect fled traffic violations, which are minor misdemeanors.

Although police did not identify the suspect, charges were filed Friday against 24-year-old Jacob Aaron Wood of Dayton, including four counts of felonious assault with a deadly weapon; failure to comply with an order or signal of a police officer; tampering with evidence; aggravated possession of drugs; and two counts of vandalism, according to Dayton Municipal Court records.

Wood was booked shortly after 8 p.m. Friday into the Montgomery County Jail, online records show.

Jacob Aaron Wood

Credit: Montgomery County Jail

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Credit: Montgomery County Jail

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