An Upper Darby man whose car allegedly hit at least one other vehicle and injured at least two people while fleeing from police Thursday morning is facing aggravated assault and related charges.
Darius Wheeler
Darius J. Wheeler, 23, is charged with six counts of aggravated assault, eight counts of simple assault, and single counts of reckless endangerment, resisting arresting, fleeing and eluding, evading arrest on foot, possession and distribution of marijuana, and summary traffic offenses.
According to East Lansdowne police:
Officer Stephen Mengini spotted a white BMW traveling west in the 900 block of Baltimore Ave. at 9:50 a.m. Thursday. The vehicle had been involved in an incident a few days prior where it almost struck an Upper Darby police officer and then fled the area at high speed.
Mengini and assisting units from neighboring jurisdictions attempted to stop the BMW on Baltimore Avenue at Church Lane, but the driver, later identified as Wheeler, fled as soon as the officers activated their lights.
“Before officers could even assess the situation, Wheeler traveled at a high rate of speed northbound on Beverly Ave. and was discovered running from his vehicle after he had impacted another vehicle traveling Westbound on Pembroke Ave.,” according to the narrative posted online. “The driver and passenger of the vehicle were injured as well.”
Wheeler was apprehended following a brief foot chase.
He was preliminarily arraigned before Magisterial District Judge David H. Lang and remanded to the county jail in Concord after failing to post 10% of $80,000 bail.
Wheeler is scheduled for a preliminary hearing Aug. 29 before District Judge Christopher R. Mattox.