DUI driver jailed after chase on Route 422
NORRISTOWN >> A Norristown man faces some time behind bars, probation and community service on charges he was driving drunk and fled from police who tried to stop his vehicle on Route 422 in Upper Providence.
Ramon Ryan Stewart, 34, of the 300 block of East Marshall Street, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to 11½ to 23 months in the county jail, to be followed by two years’ probation, for a total period of supervision of about four years in connection with the 2:28 a.m. Oct. 21, 2017, incident on eastbound Route 422.
Judge Risa Vetri Ferman said Stewart can be eligible for work release but only after serving six months in jail. Stewart, who was represented by defense lawyer Michael Walker during the sentencing hearing, also must complete 100 hours of community service and he faces drug, alcohol and mental health evaluations. The judge ordered Stewart to comply with all recommendations for treatment.
Stewart’s license is suspended as a result of the incident.
Last May, a jury convicted Stewart of charges of fleeing and eluding police, driving under the influence of alcohol and several summary traffic violations in connection with the incident.
During the trial, Assistant District Attorney Gwendolyn Kull showed jurors video footage, obtained from the dash camera of a state police cruiser, of the brief chase that ensued when Stewart sped away from police who stopped the Toyota Camry that Stewart was operating with two passengers.
“He floored the gas and
speeds back down Route 422. Speeds reached in excess of 100 mph. The conduct of the defendant that night is accurately reflected in that video,” Kull argued to the jury during the trial.
Testimony revealed the chase ended when the vehicle exited Route 422 at Oaks and all three occupants of the vehicle ran from the vehicle. Stewart was the only person apprehended by police, who identified him as the driver.
But defense lawyer Sarah Hudson, who represented Stewart during the trial, argued police did not have a clear enough view of the driver of the vehicle to be certain that it was indeed Stewart. Hudson suggested it was too dark for
troopers to positively identify the driver from a distance.
The two other occupants of the vehicle were never apprehended and never identified.
The investigation began when troopers on routine patrol on eastbound Route 422 observed a Toyota Camry crossing the white fog line onto the shoulder and crossing the dividing lines between the right and left lanes several times. Suspecting the driver may be intoxicated, the troopers activated emergency lights and conducted a traffic stop on the shoulder of the highway.
Trooper Jason Henley said that as he approached the vehicle he observed three occupants, the driver
and two passengers, one in the front seat and one in the rear seat. Henley alleged the operator had facial hair and was wearing a distinctive patterned shirt.
“The operator of the vehicle was observed leaning up and looking through the side view mirror. Once I was at the trunk of the vehicle the operator of the vehicle flees the traffic stop and traveled east on (Route 422) at a high rate of speed,” Henley wrote in the arrest affidavit.
The Camry traveled at speeds of more than 100 mph and was observed weaving in and out of traffic in an area where the posted speed limit is 55 mph, according to court documents.
After the Camry exited
at Oaks all three occupants ran from the vehicle while it was still in drive, police alleged. The driver, the man with facial hair and wearing a patterned shirt, was observed exiting the vehicle and running across Egypt Road toward Black Rock Road, police claimed. Police apprehended Stewart
after a brief foot chase.
“When Stewart was apprehended a strong scent of alcoholic beverage was emanating from his breath and his eyes were observed to be glassy and bloodshot,” Henley alleged, adding Stewart refused a breath test.