Credit: Falls Township police
Just before daybreak on Thanksgiving morning, Falls Township police and the Bucks County Detectives arrested a man who allegedly was involved in a summertime chase that left a lawman with life-threatening injuries.
Acting Chief of Police Nelson Whitney confirmed the arrest of Christopher R. Troupe, 35, who has addresses in Morrisville Borough and Falls Township. He was arraigned around 10:45 a.m. before District Judge Jan Vislosky.
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Troupe, according to an affidavit of probable cause, was fleeing from Falls Township police at night on Saturday, August 22 when Officer Jeff Rhodunda lost control of his SUV and slammed into a tree on the ramp connecting Route 1 to I-295 in Middletown Township. Trouple, who was on a royal blue motorcycle, continued off into the night, while Rhodunda was extricated from his vehicle and rushed to St. Mary Medical Center for life-saving care.
Around 9:30 p.m. on August 22, a Falls Township police corporal spotted the sport-style motorcycle breaking traffic laws and driving dangerously in the area of Penn Valley Road and Wheatsheaf Lane. The corporal pulled over the motorcycle, which had its plate partly obscured, on Corbin Lane. As the corporal broadcast information on the stop to dispatchers, Troupe accelerated at a high rate of speed, police said.
Officers were able to keep up with the motorcycle, which violated traffic laws, and followed it onto Route 1. Rhodunda was the lead pursuit vehicle before crashing, which was witnessed by another officer, police said.
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Troupe sped off and appeared to end up in Lower Makefield Township, calling family members asking them to pick him up as he hid the motorcycle, police said.
Troupe allegedly told co-workers he could not ride the motorcycle to work anymore because he was involved in a police pursuit and he had to sell it, police said.
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Detectives from Falls Township and the district attorney’s office received tips from the public, reviewed information from traffic cameras, and looked at cellphone data from Troupe and others close to him as part of their probe, according to court papers.
Rhodunda needed numerous surgeries after his Ford Police Interceptor Utility left the ramp, struck a tree, and flipped, causing a small fire. Firefighters worked for a little more than 30 minutes to get Rhodunda freed from the SUV, authorities said.
Credit: Falls Township police
Weeks after the crash, he returned home to begin the road to recovery.
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A Falls Township detective confirmed with Morrisville Borough police that Troupe may have been involved in a May chase. Borough police said Troupe had been arrested by them and pleaded guilty to riding a motorcycle with a stolen plate in 2019, according to court papers.
Troupe’s driver’s license was suspended and expired. He has a history of racing on highways, DUI, and other vehicle offenses, police said.
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Troupe was arraigned before District Judge Jan Vislosky on charges of fleeing or attempting to elude an officer, reckless endangerment, driving with a suspended license, reckless driving, and other traffic offenses. He was remanded to the Bucks County Correctional Facility on 10 percent $850,000.
Editor’s Note: All individuals arrested or charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty. The story was compiled using information from police and public court documents.
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