Vehicle fleeing Put-in-Bay police hits golf cart during chase, injuring woman

PUT-IN-BAY, Ohio — A woman was injured early Sunday morning when an accused drunken driver leading police on chase around the Lake Erie island hit the golf cart she was in, police say.

The 29-year-old woman, a Lebanon, Ohio, resident, was not seriously injured but still was flown by helicopter to a hospital because her injuries could not be treated by EMS workers, according to a news release from police. The suspect, a 39-year-old Marion man, is in custody.

The chase started shortly after police were called at about 1:30 a.m. for reports that a man was assaulting a woman in front of Put-in-Bay School. When officers arrived, the suspect jumped into a vehicle and drove toward the officers’ patrol cars, nearly hitting them, police say.

The suspect led police down several streets before eventually going in the wrong direction on Delaware Street, again nearly hitting the patrol cars. While driving the wrong way on Delaware Street, the suspect’s vehicle hit the woman’s golf cart but kept going.

An Ottawa County Sheriff’s Deputy joined the chase as it headed toward South Bass Island State Park, with the suspect again nearly hitting a patrol car in a parking lot of the park. A short time later the car stopped on Niagara Avenue and the suspect was taken into custody.

Police say the suspect did not have a valid driver’s license and appeared to be intoxicated. He reportedly is facing several unspecified felony and misdemeanor charges.