Police chase ends in crash in Columbus

A police chase that began in Alabama ended in a three-vehicle crash at the intersection of Whitesville Road and Veterans Parkway in Columbus Tuesday afternoon.

Facing multiple charges is 35-year-old Edward Baez of Phenix City.

Those charges include leaving the scene of an accident, disregarding a traffic control device, reckless driving, no proof of insurance, no state tag and fleeing to elude.

According to an official report, deputies from the Lee County Sheriff’s Office and officers of the Phenix City Police Department were pursuing Baez who was driving a 2006 Pontiac Torrent. There was no information given on why officers were chasing Baez.

Police say after the crash Baez fled on foot but was captured and arrested at 1:45 p.m.

He was transported to the Muscogee County Jail after being cleared by the staff at Midtown Medical Center.

Other vehicles involved in the crash were a 1998 Ford F-150 and a 2005 Scion xA.

Police say the driver of the Ford F-150, a 23-year-old Phenix City woman, told officers she was stopped on Whitesville Road at the intersection of Veterans Parkway when she observed Baez enter the intersection from the other side at a high rate of speed.

She said when Baez entered the intersection, the driver of the Scion xA, a 35-year-old Columbus man, was in the middle of the intersection going northbound on a green light. She said Baez then struck the man’s vehicle. Both then struck the front of her vehicle.

Two witnesses recalled the crash happening in a similar fashion with one stating that as the crash was occurring, a police car with emergency equipment followed into the intersection.

The Scion driver complained of pain in the neck and back and was transported to Midtown Medical Center. He said he could not recall how the crash occurred.

Baez is scheduled to be in Columbus Recorder’s Court Thursday at 9 a.m.

This story was originally published September 19, 2017 at 7:09 PM with the headline "Police chase ends in crash in Columbus."