Driver dies after police chase, crash in Boardman

Authorities say the driver of a pickup truck that crashed following a police chase in Boardman has died.

The Mahoning County Coroner's office tells 21 News that 42-year-old Jonathan Wood of Springfield, Alabama died Wednesday afternoon.

Wood had been in Mercy Hospital in Youngstown since earlier that morning after a police chase that ended in a crash.

Township Police say an officer spotted a pickup truck driving erratically along Market Street running a red light near Shields Road at around 1 a.m. Wednesday.

According to police, when the officer tried to pull the truck over, the truck fled, possibly striking a utility pole near Erskine Avenue before continuing southbound with speeds reaching 60 miles per hour.

The truck eventually crashed into a utility pole on the east side of Market Street near Akron Children’s Hospital. 

The pole was sheared at the base and moved approximately seven feet but remained standing according to police.

The collision brought down power lines across Market Street.  The truck rolled over, landing upright.

Wood, who was found inside the truck unconscious with visible injuries, was taken to Mercy Health Boardman and then airlifted to Mercy Health Youngstown Trauma Center where he later died.

The coroner's office plans to conduct an autopsy on Thursday.

As a result of the crash, a portion of Market Street was closed until late Wednesday when First Energy crews completed work to repair the damage.

First Energy officials say the utility pole that was struck is not a traditional power line, but an 80-foot high voltage line.

The damage left about 6,000 customers without power for about 20 minutes, however, First Energy says power was quickly restored.

"We have been talking a lot about some of the infrastructure upgrades we have made in the Youngstown area, where we have installed back up power lines and this is an example of that work in action," said First Energy Spokesperson Lauren Siburkis. "While there is significant damage to our infrastructure we had these back up powerlines in place so that when a primary line for a customer is damaged, we can  switch them over to a different line for service while they make the repairs to their primary line."