Driver sentenced for fleeing from Douglass (Mont.) police
A Berks County man faces court supervision and community service for fleeing at high speeds from Douglass (Mont.) police who attempted to stop him for alleged traffic violations.
Zachary Eugene Lambert, 23, of the 100 block of Meadow Lane, Bechtelsville, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to five years’ probation after he pleaded guilty to a felony charge of fleeing or attempting to elude police in connection with the May 6, 2017, incident. Judge William R. Carpenter also ordered Lambert to complete 100 hours of community service as a condition of the sentence.
Other charges of recklessly endangering other persons and agricultural vandalism and numerous traffic violations were dismissed in exchange for Lambert’s guilty plea to the felony charge.
An investigation, according to court documents, began about 7:35 a.m. when Douglass (Mont.) police on patrol along the 600 block of Hoffmansville Road clocked Lambert’s Black Mazda sedan traveling at a speed of 69 mph in a 40 mph speed zone. With lights and siren blaring an officer attempted to stop Lambert’s vehicle at Hoffmansville and Congo-Niantic roads but Lambert “accelerated quickly and attempted to flee the area in an attempt to avoid apprehension,” according to the arrest affidavit filed by Douglass (Mont.) Police Officer Andrew Poux.
As Lambert fled at high speeds he illegally passed other motorists in no passing zones “without signaling in a dangerous section of the roadway cresting a hill with no visible sight lines,” Poux alleged.
“The maximum speed limit reached during my attempt to stop was observed as 83 mph on my certified and calibrated speedometer,” Poux alleged.
As police continued to travel north on Congo-Niantic Road in search of the fleeing vehicle, a resident, from his lawn, frantically pointed in the direction of westbound Niantic Road and yelled, “That way!” according to the criminal complaint. Police subsequently observed Lambert’s vehicle traveling at high speeds and driving erratically again on Niantic Road, according to court papers.
A short time later, near the Washington Township, Berks County line, police observed significant damage to a Niantic Road resident’s property after Lambert’s vehicle entered a driveway and then crossed a cultivated field, according to the criminal complaint. The vehicle then traveled onto the property of an Apple Street residence, police said.
“The defendant’s vehicle came to rest in the driveway of the property due to catastrophic damage from the initial point of impact of the crash,” Poux alleged.
Lambert was taken into custody at the point the vehicle stopped.
As part of his sentence, Lambert must pay $1,796 in restitution to cover the damage to the Niantic Road property, court papers indicate.