On Sunday, September 14, 2014 at 6:45 pm Mentor Police attempted to stop a vehicle wanted in connection with a hit/skip accident in Painesville Twp. The vehicle, a maroon Chevy Blazer, had exited SR2 at Center St and turned westbound onto Bellflower Rd. An officer got behind the vehicle and attempted to initiate a traffic stop. The driver of the Blazer began braking but eventually accelerated away from the officer and continued westbound on Bellflower Rd. The vehicle drove off the road at the curve on Bellflower and hit a fence. The driver refused the officers orders to exit the vehicle. After trying to continue forward the driver put the vehicle in reverse and at a high speed backed across Bellflower Rd striking the front of an arriving police car. The vehicle then continued in a southbound direction along the tree lawn and sidewalk area. At one point the vehicle re-entered Bellflower Rd and then went back off the road out of control and flipped onto its side near the entrance drive to Independence Place Condominiums.

The driver exited the vehicle and fled on foot eastbound into the condo complex where he eventually surrendered to the officers pursuing him on foot.

The driver has been identified as KYLE P. DODSON, age 23 of Ardoye Dr. in Painesville. Dodson was transported to Lake West Hospital where he was treated and released for minor injuries.

One officer was treated and released for a minor hand injury that occurred while attempting to get the driver out of the car.

Kyle Dodson will be arraigned in the Mentor Municipal Court this morning. He is being charged with:
Failure to Comply with a Police Officer, a third degree felony;
Obstructing Official Business, a fifth degree felony;
Resisting Arrest, a fourth degree felony;
Possessing Drug Abuse Instruments, a first degree misdemeanor;
Operating a Vehicle Under the Influence, a first degree misdemeanor;
Driving Under Suspension, a first degree misdemeanor;
No Driver’s License, a first degree misdemeanor;
Reckless Operation, a minor misdemeanor;
Failure to wear a seatbelt, a minor misdemeanor.

The Lake County Sheriff’s Office may have additional charges.

Contrary to some earlier media reports, at no time were any gunshots fired by the Mentor Police officers on scene. The suspect was not armed.