Malson said they do know who was driving the green Monte Carlo that struck the Dayton cruiser, but are not releasing their identity at this time.
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Officers were in the area of the Shell around 10 p.m., when they spotted the green Monte Carlo with a window tint violation. As officers approached the vehicle, the driver backed out of the Shell station and pointed toward the Dayton police cruiser, Malson said.
The driver of the green Monte Carlo then drove toward the Dayton officer and struck the cruiser before fleeing on Free Pike.
Dayton officers pursued the green Monte Carlo before losing sight of the vehicle and terminated the chase in the area of Salem and Ohio 49.
A short time later Montgomery County deputies and Trotwood police spotted a black Monte Carlo initially thought to be the suspect vehicle, Malson said. As officers tried to pull over the driver of the black Monte Carlo, the driver sped off and eventually ditched the vehicle in the area of U.S. 35 and Liscum Drive.
It was later determined that the vehicle spotted by deputies and Trotwood officers was not the vehicle that rammed the Dayton cruiser.
A passenger in the black Monte Carlo was taken into custody and the driver still is on the run.
INITIAL REPORT (Mar. 26)
One person was taken into custody after a police cruiser was rammed head-on, which was allegedly intentional, during a pursuit that led to a foot search Tuesday night.
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The cruiser that was believed to be intentionally struck joined in on a pursuit of a suspect vehicle, a black Chevrolet Monte Carlo through area roads, just before 10 p.m.
After slamming into the cruiser on Free Pike and Arlene Avenue, the suspect vehicle fled west on Free Pike, south on Salem, south on state Route 49 and continued on to U.S. 35. The vehicle was believed to have left the highway at Liscum Drive.
From there, the suspect car headed west on Dayton-Liberty Road and ended up in the area of Big Bend and Accent Park drives in Drexel, where the driver jumped out and ran.
Law enforcement put down spiked sticks at some point during the pursuit, which shredded the suspect car's tires.
Authorities with assistance of a K-9 unit searched the area on foot for the individual that fled. Although a person was taken into custody at the scene, it is not clear whether that person was the driver of the car that hit the police cruiser.
The police officer, who has not been identified by name, is said to be OK. He was apart of the continuing search for the suspect.
We’ll continue to update this story as additional details become available.
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