Suspect who allegedly fled fiery I-70 crash in Clark County back in court

The suspect who allegedly fled a fiery crash Saturday on Interstate 70 in Clark County was back in court Thursday for an arraignment.

Jose Martimez, 23, of Crofton, Maryland, was charged in Clark County Municipal Court with obstructing official business. He pleaded not guilty and his bond was set at $21,000.

Martimez’s initial arraignment hearing was postponed due to the need for an interpreter, according to online court documents.

READ: Man charged after fiery crash, helicopter search on I-70 in Clark County

The Ohio State Highway Patrol was dispatched around 4:30 a.m. Saturday to I-70 because a car was engulfed in flames following a crash, an affidavit filed with the charges says.

“We were informed by the witness that the driver of the vehicle had left the scene and ran into the woods,” the affidavit says. “(Troopers) proceeded into the woods to look for the suspect. We searched the dark heavily wooded area for approximately 45 minutes. The area was extremely dangerous due to not being able to see where we were walking. The mud, terrain forests and large creek created an officer safety issue due to the fact that we did not know if the suspect was armed or not.”

Previous: OSP helicopter tracks driver who ran into woods after fiery crash on I-70 in Clark County

A patrol helicopter was in the area, the affidavit says, and was used to search for the suspect.

“The OSHP helicopter located the suspect and we placed the suspect into custody,” the affidavit says.

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