A Morgantown man is being held at Tygart Valley Regional Jail after he allegedly attempted to flee from law enforcement Wednesday evening in Preston County, crashing his vehicle multiple times.
Sgt. W.T. McNair, with Preston County Sheriff’s Department, reported he was traveling on W.Va. 92 in the Arthurdale area when a pickup truck pulled off A Road, directly in front of him. Upon checking the registration, McNair learned it had been entered into the NCIC (National Crime Information Center) database as a stolen plate.
The driver, later identified as Michael H. McDonald, 50, of Morgantown, had turned onto Stoney Run Road, when McNair said he activated his lights for a traffic stop, but continued to drive normally. When McNair activated the siren, McDonald allegedly began to accelerate.
According to the criminal complaint, the vehicle continued on, but the driver apparently lost control at the intersection of Stoney Run and Mt. View Road, causing the pickup to spin around before hitting an embankment, leaving the vehicle headed back toward the officer.
While attempting to turn his vehicle back around to his original direction, McDonald’s truck struck a mailbox and a tree.
“The driver backed up and went forward, hitting the tree again,” the complaint states. “The driver then backed up again and rammed the [officer’s] cruiser.”
McDonald was eventually able to make the turn and continue on Stoney Run Road, but did not get far. McNair reported a short distance later the vehicle began losing lights and power and started to slow down.
McDonald pulled the vehicle to the right side of the road, opened the door, and then, according to the complaint, “jumped from the still-moving vehicle” before taking off on foot into the woods.
The pickup continued moving before going off the road and crashing into another tree, the complaint said.
McNair was able to catch up to McDonald in the woods and placed him under arrest, charging him with fleeing from an officer with reckless indifference.
McDonald was arraigned Thursday in Preston County Magistrate Court and is still being held on $20,000 bond.
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