Police: Driver fleeing officer hits other vehicle, crashes into scoreboard at ballpark

Lawrence police say a man who sped away from an officer went on to crash into a baseball field scoreboard before being chased down on foot.

The incident began about 1:50 a.m. Tuesday, when an officer approached the occupant of a suspicious vehicle parked in the 1700 block of 25th Street, Officer Derrick Smith said, in an email.

According to Smith:

The officer determined that the man, who was the only person inside the vehicle, had an out-of-county warrant and ordered him out of the vehicle. The officer grabbed the man’s arm as the suspect started the vehicle and drove off.

The suspect crashed into another vehicle, whose driver was not injured, as he sped through a red light at 25th and Iowa streets. As the officer followed him on 25th Street, the suspect entered Holcom Park and crashed into a ball field scoreboard, disabling his vehicle.

He then fled on foot and an officer caught him a short distance away. Officers said they found what appeared to be narcotics in the vehicle.

The suspect was taken to an area hospital for an evaluation before being booked into the jail.

The suspect, a 28-year-old Topeka man, was booked on suspicion of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, fleeing police, aggravated battery, failure to stop at an accident, drug distribution and driving without a valid license, according to jail records. Related charges against him did not appear late Tuesday morning in a search of Douglas County District Court cases.