High speed chase Downtown injures one, driver arrested

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – High Street in Downtown Columbus was shut down for a couple of hours early Wednesday morning after a traffic stop turned into a high-speed chase.

Columbus police said that officers attempted to perform a routine traffic stop near Dodge Park on the west side of the Scioto River at around 1:40 a.m. when the driver of a white Jeep Grand Cherokee took off. Police chased the SUV into the downtown area where the car turned east down West Rich Street, which is a one-way road heading west.

The driver of the SUV hit a 2020 Chevrolet Sonic which was stopped at a traffic signal head on at the intersection of West Rich Street and South High Street. The SUV then jumped a curb, struck a traffic box which controls the traffic signals, hit a light pole, then crashed into a parked taxicab on the north side of East Rich Street. He also took out a metal box which controls traffic signals.

The driver of the SUV was arrested while the person at the intersection of Rich Street and South High Street was taken to Grant Medical Center. He is listed in stable condition, but with serious injuries.

The driver of the SUV was arrested and charged with operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated. South High Street was closed for over two hours between Main Street and State Street, but reopened just before 4 a.m.