A Cleveland man is in a Pennsylvania jail accused of leading troopers on a high-speed chase from the Cleveland area, through the Valley, ending in a crash and foot chase in Cranberry, Pennsylvania.

State Police arrested 23-year-old Makele Scruggs Sunday afternoon after a stolen SUV they say he was driving crashed through a turnpike gate and struck a guardrail in Butler County.

 

Makele Scruggs
Makele Scruggs  

 

Not long before the crash, the Ohio State Highway Patrol chased the SUV along the Ohio and Pennsylvania Turnpikes, with speeds reaching 140 miles per hour.

The saga began around 3 p.m. Sunday after State Troopers were asked to be on the lookout for a Ford Expedition stolen from Cleveland Hopkins Airport.

Using a GPS tracker, the Patrol and Boardman Police began chasing the SUV after it exited the Ohio Turnpike.  Troopers say during the chase, the SUV struck a patrol car.

The Patrol says no one was injured in that crash.

A few minutes later, Troopers say a pickup truck pulled into the bath of another patrol car at South Avenue and Route 224.  The pickup truck spun around and flipped over, damaging the cruiser. The patrol says a Trooper and two people in the pickup truck went to hospitals with minor injuries.

The pursuit continued east on the turnpike into Pennsylvania, sometimes traveling along the berm before the SUV crashed.

Scruggs is in the Butler County Jail charged with receiving stolen property, criminal mischief, fleeing police, reckless driving, endangering another person, careless driving, and disregarding traffic lanes.

Scruggs also faces charges in Ohio. The Ohio State Highway Patrol filed charges of felonious assault, unauthorized use of a vehicle and failure to comply with the order or signal of a police officer.