Driver crashes after 130 mph pursuit
A driver wanted in an Ohio homicide case led law officers on a chase that topped speeds of 130 mph Thursday morning before the car crashed into a utility pole, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol reported.
The pursuit, which began in south Oklahoma City, ended about 11:20 a.m. when the car crashed at SW 44 and Cimarron Road. Shots were fired at one point during the pursuit, according to police radio reports.
The two men in the car were wanted in connection with a homicide in Elyria, Ohio, southwest of Cleveland, said Patrol Capt. Paul Timmons. In the car were Joshua Phillip Alexander Hohn, 19, and Phillip HohnTucker, 21, said Lt. James P. Welsh, of the Elyria Police Department.
Both men were sought in connection with a Wednesday morning case in which a 38-year-old man was found dead in a school parking lot in Elyria. Officers went to the school about 2:20 a.m. Wednesday on reports of a person passed out in the parking lot and found the body of Barry Allen Spreng
Jr., who they said had been stabbed multiple times.
Investigators identified Hohn and Hohn-Tucker as being involved in the stabbing. Hohn was sought on a murder warrant and Hohn-Tucker was sought on a warrant for conspiracy to commit robbery, Welsh said.
Police also were looking for Spreng’s vehicle, a gray 2007 Hyundai Sonata, which Welsh said was the vehicle involved in Thursday’s pursuit.
Welsh said detectives were also wanting to question Gloria Louise Watton, 18, in connection with the homicide. Authorities believed she may be in the Tennessee area. Hohn, who was driving the car, was taken from the scene by helicopter to OU Medical Center. He was listed in critical condition as of late Thursday.
Hohn-Tucker was taken to a local hospital and treated for his injuries,
then taken to the Oklahoma County jail.
The Oklahoma Highway Patrol, Canadian County sheriff’s deputies and local police officers were involved in the pursuit. Patrol Lt. Kera Philippi said it’s unclear why the pursuit began.
Troopers reported speeds in excess of 130 mph and the driver ran a number of stop signs.
JOSH WALLACE AND ROBERT MEDLEY, STAFF WRITERS