Driver at center of multi-county pursuit awaits charges, held on out-of-state warrants

Photo+from+the+Coshocton+County+Sheriffs+Office.

Photo from the Coshocton County Sheriff’s Office.

By Jessica Johnston, Assistant News Director

The driver of a stolen semi-truck cab is being held in jail on outstanding warrants while prosecutors in multiple counties coordinate to press charges.

Stephen Wolfe, 47, could be facing charges as serious as aggravated vehicular assault following an over two-and-a-half hour-long pursuit on Monday.

According to Ohio State Highway Patrol Lieutenant Craig Cvetan, Licking County could potentially charge Wolfe with aggravated vehicular assault as a result of crash that Wolfe caused as he attempted to evade troopers.

The driver of a pickup truck in Licking County sustained significant injuries, Lieutenant Matt Boyd said the day of the incident. Wolfe allegedly swerved the semi cab to miss stop sticks placed on the roadway by law enforcement and hit a pickup truck causing the crash.

“It’s my understanding that all the prosecutors in those counties are working together to determine which counties it would be best to file which charges,” Cvetan said. “So, that’ll be a determination that’s made by those prosecutors to where we’re going to file and how those charges will be filed.”

On Wednesday, the pursuit began at 12:15 p.m. in Wyandot County on U.S. 30 East when a trooper attempted to pull Wolfe over for a commercial violation.

The chase continued through Wyandot, Crawford, Marion, Delaware, Franklin, Licking, Muskingum and Coshocton counties. It ended 2 hours and 38 minutes after the pursuit began.

“There were different troopers from different districts and different posts that were all involved in it, so the original ones, you know, that got involved in Wyandot County were not the same ones that ended up in Coshocton County,” Cvetan said.

While troopers on the ground and in the air followed the chase throughout its duration, many other agencies in each of the counties assisted with the pursuit along the way.

The 147 mile-long vehicle pursuit ended in Coshocton County, on Pleasant Valley Road, when Wolfe jumped out of the truck and began running from authorities on foot. He was apprehended at a nearby residence where some of his relatives lived.

Currently, Wolfe is awaiting charges from Ohio counties but is being held in jail for warrants out of Michigan. It’s unclear what those warrants are for.

The semi-truck cab that Wolfe was driving at the time of the pursuit was found to be stolen out of Michigan. The owner had reported the truck missing, although Cvetan said it’s unknown if Wolfe was the person that actually stole the vehicle.

The pursuit and the stolen vehicle is currently under investigation.