Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
Pennsylvania State Police said a driver engaged in a dangerous Monday evening chase that reached speeds as high as 125 mph through the area.
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At 7:20 p.m. on northbound I-95 in Bensalem Township, a trooper sitting at the bottom of the Street Road exit clocked an Audi sedan traveling 108 mph on the highway. I-95 has a 55 mph speed limit in the area, state police said.
The trooper followed the speeding vehicle on I-95 in Bristol Township near the Bristol Exit when the vehicle’s emergency lights and sirens were activated.
The following trooper noted in court papers that the Audi was spotted “making reckless maneuvers, putting other motorists in danger.”
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The chase went onto I-295 eastbound in Middletown Township and the Audi weaved in and out of traffic without using a turn signal while traveling at a high rate of speed, troopers said.
The Audi made an abrupt turn to take the Penndel/Levittown Exit and accelerated onto Veterans Highway (Route 413) as the trooper followed. The fleeing vehicle went toward oncoming traffic and the trooper switched off his emergency lights and sirens for safety, state police said.
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The trooper reported ending the pursuit and then patrolled Middletown Township’s Levittown section. He next spotted the Audi on Four Leaf Road, state police said.
The trooper was able to stop the Audi, get the driver to surrender, and place him in handcuffs, state police said.
The trooper wrote in court papers he “detected a strong odor of marijuana emanating from the vehicle” and the driver.
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The driver was identified as Jerome Dexter Bland, 25, of Darby Borough, Delaware County, and it was determined he owned the Audi, state police said.
The trooper said he noticed Bland looked intoxicated and appeared to have recently used marijuana, state police said.
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Bland reportedly refused to get his blood drawn.
Bland was arraigned late Monday night before on-call District Judge Maggie Snow on charges of fleeing or attempting to elude an officer, resisting arrest, reckless endangerment, DUI, unsafe movement, exceeding the speed limit by 53 mph, and other traffic-related offenses.
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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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