Police: Man wakes up to police outside vehicle, leads them on midnight chase
OAKLAND TWP — A sleeping driver in a sport utility vehicle on a road woke up just past midnight Thursday and led state police on a brief pursuit before being arrested, authorities said.
The suspect, Ian M. Moore, 23, of Oakland Township, is accused of fleeing police and driving under the influence in the incident, which began with a call around 12:10 a.m. for a welfare check.
The caller reported that a Ford Escape was parked in a travel lane at Center Drive and Hohn Farm Road in Oakland Township with a man at the steering wheel not moving, police said.
Two troopers got there, approached the SUV and tried to make contact with the defendant, police said. The officers believed he was sleeping and they noticed an open can of beer in the cup holder.
The vehicle was in park and the doors were locked.
“Moore regained consciousness and immediately, upon seeing troopers at his driver side window,” according to charging documents, “put the vehicle in gear and fled the scene.”
This is an excerpt from a larger article that appeared in Friday’s Butler Eagle. Subscribe online or in print to read more about the case.
