A preliminary hearing is scheduled today for an Indiana man who led state troopers on a chase last month before crashing into the base of a concrete sign along Oakland Avenue in White Township.
59-year-old Charles Randolph was injured in the crash and was flown from the Indiana Regional Medical Center to Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh. He has apparently recovered enough to appear in court for today’s hearing, which is scheduled for 3 PM before District Judge Guy Haberl. Randolph is free on recognizance bond.
The incident began when a state trooper attempted to pull over Randolph for running a stop sign along Philadelphia Street. He is accused of trying twice to hit the trooper’s cruiser as he fled, and minutes later, of trying to ram another cruiser as the pursuit resumed on Oakland Avenue. Eventually, a police maneuver forced the crash, and the pickup caught fire, but Randolph had been removed from the truck before the fire began.
Charges include two counts each of aggravated assault, simple assault, and recklessly endangering another person, and a single count of attempting to flee or elude a police officer, plus nine summary traffic violations.
