OC man arrested after high-speed chase

From staff reports

An Oil City man is facing charges for leading police on a high-speed chase from Franklin to Cochranton late Wednesday night.

Franklin city police said they had been on patrol at about 10:15 p.m. when they saw a black Ford truck, later determined to be driven by Cody Blair, 31, cross the center line of Meadville Pike just before its intersection with Bell Avenue.

The vehicle crossed the center and fog lines several more times, then almost went off the road in the 200 block of Meadville Pike, police said.

Police said that as they used their lights and sirens to notify Blair to pull over, he sped away, reaching a speed of 80 mph.

Blair then led police on a chase that, at times, reached speeds of 120 mph until he eventually lost control of the vehicle in the 500 block of Long Road in Cochranton, police said.

Police said that after the truck rolled twice, Blair climbed from the vehicle and began to run on foot. He was apprehended after police used a Taser to “effect the arrest safely,” police said.

Blair has been charged with a felony count of fleeing an officer; misdemeanor counts of DUI (two), recklessly endangering another person (four), criminal mischief and resisting arrest, and three summary traffic violations.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled Wednesday in Central Court.