Man charged in ATV incident

Written by Standard-Speaker

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Tom Ragan

One man was charged and Pennsylvania State Police at Hazleton are seeking the names of seven other all-terrain vehicle operators involved in the damage of a Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) vehicle.

Weatherly police chief Brian Markovchick was not injured after crashing the police car into a pole while responding to the incident along South Stage Coach Road near Buck Mountain Road in Lausanne Township. The police car was demolished and the pole was almost snapped in half.

The incident began, according to Michael Dinsmore, assistant park manager at Hickory Run State Park, around 5 p.m. on the Tannery Road when eight ATVs were taking up both lanes of traffic before going through a stop sign.
A DCNR ranger, who has full police powers, attempted to stop the ATV riders who fled the scene. One of the ATVs slammed into a home just off Lehigh Gorge Drive, as the DCNR ranger in pursuit was pulling up, the ATV backed into the DCNR vehicle crashing into the door and causing damage, Dinsmore said.

The ATV driver sped off according to Dinsmore. The DCNR ranger was not injured.

"The door will probably have to be replaced," Dinsmore said. He added that there was some damage to the home but it appeared to be minor.

The DCNR ranger did manage to stop one of the other ATV operators who was having problems with the quad he was driving. He was held until state police arrived.

Dinsmore confirmed the suspect apprehended was charged by police with a number of misdemeanors such as reckless driving, fleeing and attempting to elude police, failure to yield to a stop and yield sign, and driving on the wrong side of the road.

The suspect, whose name was not released by state police, was arraigned on the charges and was held on $25,000 straight cash bail and police are continuing the investigation according to Dinsmore. It is likely more charges will be filed once all eight ATV operators are known to police.

Source: http://standardspeaker.com/news/man-charged-in-atv-incident-1.729611

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Community Voices

“During the past decade, I have personally had six out of seven elk hunts ruined by the careless intrusions of ATV operators. This epidemic has forced me to abandon one prime hunting area after another, only to encounter the same situation elsewhere. The shameful part of this picture is that the overwhelming majority of these ATV’ers are young and healthy, not decrepit or physically challenged. Maybe these riders would be more respectful of other people's outdoor experience if they knew we could ID them."

- Bill Sustrich, Colorado Backcountry Hunters and Anglers