I-680 open again after deadly crash
After more than eight hours, the southbound lanes of Interstate 680 are open again. A police pursuit of a robbery suspect ended with a deadly crash on I-680 shortly after 11 a.m. Thursday.
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After more than eight hours, the southbound lanes of Interstate 680 are open again.
A police pursuit of a robbery suspect ended with a deadly crash on I-680 shortly after 11 a.m. Thursday.
A police officer spotted a blue S-10 pick up truck suspected in a robbery earlier in the day.
At one point the suspect's truck came into the oncoming path of a 21 News crew following the story. The crew managed to capture the oncoming vehicle on video just seconds before the crash.
The crash scene showed the force of the impact between the suspect's pick-up truck and a semi-tractor trailer. Both vehicles demolished, and debris scattered for hundreds of feet. Seconds after speeding past our news car, the pick-up rounded a curve and hit the semi head-on.
Despite heavy damage to his cab, the semi-driver walked away without serious injury.
The fleeing suspect, later identified as 46-year-old Stephen Mango of Hanoverton, was wanted in connection with a robbery at the Dollar Tree store on Mahoning Avenue in Austintown.
Police say the robber didn't have a weapon but punched the clerk.
"He bought a bottle of Coke, and as soon as the clerk opened the cash register, he punched her on the right side of the face, then reached in as the cash register was open and took $50 in cash out of the cash register," said Austintown Detective Jordan Yacovone.
Store employees got a good description of the suspects vehicle, and it was later spotted on 680 by an Austintown officer.
"He followed the vehicle until he could get some marked units for back up and that's when the pursuit started," Yacovone said.
Mango drove south on 680 to the turnpike toll booth where he turned around and headed back north in the southbound lane. Police said he reached speeds of 90 miles per hour leading up to the fatal crash.
Police did deploy spike-strips twice in an attempt to disable the vehicle, but Mango avoided them. Police say it's just fortunate that no one else was injured.
Mango was involved in a similar chase in February 2001 at the intersection of Midlothian Boulevard and Youngstown Poland Road.
Later that year in August, Mango pleaded guilty to charges of failure to comply, involuntary manslaughter, robbery and theft. He was sentenced to 13 years in prison.
