A man trying to avoid getting pulled over for a suspended driver’s license put the lives of several motorists in jeopardy Friday morning as he sped down the middle of Beersheba Street.
The suspect, John Bohr, 41, has been hit with eight charges for his run from the law where he reportedly reached speeds of 80 mph on the heavily traveled two-lane street.
“It’s a miracle he didn’t kill somebody,” said state trooper Donnie Clark, who had to chase down Bohr on foot after he crashed. “There were probably 20 cars that had to veer off the roadway to dodge him.”
The incident happened at 11:30 a.m. near the bridge on Beersheba Street. Clark passed Bohr on the road and was turning around to pull him over for a seatbelt violation.
Bohr, who was traveling toward downtown, noticed the state trooper turning around and realized what was going to happen. That’s when he drove his Ford Mustang down the center of the road putting motorists in both lanes of traffic in jeopardy.
Clark said he never started an active pursuit with his lights because he could see Bohr was endangering other motorists. He followed the vehicle and found it crashed on a sidewalk by Beersheba Towers with a front wheel bent inward and badly damaged to prevent the car from being in driving condition. That’s when Bohr tried to escape on foot and made it a good distance before he was captured by the trooper.
“I had to run him down and physically take him into custody,” said Clark. “He said the reason he sped away like that was because he had a suspended driver’s license and he knew I was going to stop him so he was trying to get away.”
Reckless endangerment, evading arrest by motor vehicle, and driving on a suspended license are among the eight charges Bohr faces.