By Andrew Donofrio
NEW CASTLE Pa. — A traffic stop on the city’s South Side Thursday morning turned into a 20-minute, high-speed chase through New Castle. It ended with a crash on Croton Avenue. And it gave New Castle Mayor Wayne Alexander an unusual experience during his routine patrol with police.
Police identified the driver as Jamie Pardick of New Castle. Charges against Pardick were being filed in District Judge David Rishel’s office Friday morning and were unavailable before deadline.
Police said Pardick was accompanied by a male from Portersville. His name was not available Friday morning. City police officer Anthony Mangino said he had made the initial stop when he noticed Pardick’s brake lights were out. Mangino was riding in the city’s SUV patrol vehicle with Alexander.
The officer said they were conducting one of the mayor’s weekly neighborhood visits. According to Mangino, Pardick stopped near the corner of Reynolds and Agnew streets, and he approached her vehicle. Pardick — who had outstanding warrants for illegal vehicle operation — gave him a false name, claiming to be her sister, who has similar warrants, according to the officer.
When Mangino returned to the vehicle, he said, Pardick told him she had lied about her identity. At that point, the passenger attempted to get out, the officer said. “After that, I asked them for permission to search the vehicle,” Mangino said. “Then the man tried to get out of the vehicle, again.”
MAYOR ADDS DETAILS
Alexander said he had gotten out of the patrol car to stretch when he heard Mangino raise his voice. “The girl tried to put her vehicle in gear, and I saw Anthony reach inside to pull the keys out of the ignition,” Alexander said. “She started to pull away with his arm inside her car. When he freed himself, he pulled his gun out of his holster and aimed.”
The mayor and Mangino both said the officer did not fire at the vehicle as it sped away. Alexander said Mangino lost sight of the vehicle, but people outside their houses showed them the direction the red Oldsmobile Cutlass was traveling.
“It was amazing. People in the street were pointing to where she was going.” According to Mangino, Pardick drove recklessly as she sped through the South Side, East Side and downtown areas of the city. “She ran stop signs, lights, one-ways, everything,” Mangino said.
The Cutlass also swiped an unmarked city cruiser that had joined the chase a few minutes after it began. Alexander said he had a gut feeling Pardick would kill someone when she drove the wrong way on Mill Street. He said he wasn’t sure how her vehicle made it through unscathed. “Anthony, she’s going to have a head-on collision,” Alexander recalled saying.
“I used to be an (emergency medical technician). It was so surreal. You don’t realize how many things are going through your head while your witnessing this,” he added. As the Cutlass roared up the Croton Avenue hill at more than 70 miles per hour, Alexander said, Mangino gave chase with two wheels gripping the road and two wheels slanted against a median.
DRIVER LOSES CONTROL
At the corner of Croton Avenue and Walnut Street, Pardick lost control of her car, police said, and it fished-tailed, bashing into a maroon Dodge van. The impact crushed the driver’s side of the van, propelling the car into spin. As the car rotated, it scraped a 50-foot line across Croton Avenue, ripping the rear driver’s side tire off.
Boots, jeans and a gas can were among the debris that flew from the Cutlass as it continued to whirl around on three wheels for nearly 100 feet, police said. After slamming into a black Ford Ranger parked in the Car Solutions lot on Croton Avenue, the Cutlass came to an abrupt halt.
Police said officers in the unmarked cruiser were the first on the scene. They reported the passenger attempted to punch one of the officers after he got out of the car, but he was wrestled to the ground and cuffed.
CHASE CONTINUES
The mayor noted Pardick crawled out of the driver’s side window. Mangino said police fired Tazers at Pardick as she bolted across the Car Solutions parking lot, then rolled down the 30-foot embankment behind it. The hillside leading to Neshannock Creek is a nearly 90-degree angle and littered with metal wire, tree roots and branches.
Officers said Pardick fought with them in the water before finally being handcuffed and taken to Jameson Hospital for treatment of minor injuries suffered during her fall. The driver of the Dodge van was treated and released from the hospital. No additional information was available as of press time.
Andrew Donor4io writes for the New Castle (Pa.) News.
