Matthew Foster, 43, of 165 New Haven Drive, was arrested on charges of driving while under the influence, negligent assault and resisting arrest, all misdemeanors. After an initial hearing in Champaign County Municipal Court on Thursday, Foster was released on his own recognizance and will face a pretrial hearing on April 12.
Information from the Urbana Police Division shows that at 1:18 a.m., officers stopped a 1991 Toyota in the 1000 block of Scioto Street for a traffic violation. Another police cruiser soon arrived on the scene for backup.
Officers discovered the driver of the Toyota was driving without a valid license, and suspected drug paraphernalia was also found in the front seat of the car.
Shortly before 1:30 a.m., officers were investigating that incident when Foster crashed into the rear of one of the parked police cruisers, which then crashed into the back of an additional cruiser.
Two officers, as well as the driver and a female passenger from the Toyota, suffered minor injuries. The woman was taken to Mercy Memorial Hospital, but she walked out and officers arrested her outside the emergency room, Lt. Matt Lingrell said.
Foster initially tried to walk away from officers, and then struggled with police while they tried to arrest him. Information from the Urbana Police Division shows he refused to submit to a blood alcohol test. Officers later obtained a search warrant and a court order allowing them to take a blood sample.
One police cruiser sustained heavy damage, while the other had only minor damage. The Urbana Fire Division, the Marysville Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol and the Champaign County Sheriff’s Office assisted at the scene.
A third police cruiser also was damaged recently in a separate accident, Lingrell said.
“Hopefully if things run in threes, we’re done after this,” he said.
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