Man arrested after fleeing traffic stop, crashing into police vehicle
A man was arrested late Thursday night after fleeing a traffic stop and crashing his car into multiple vehicles, including an officer's patrol car.
According to a statement from Mesa police, officers tried to stop the vehicle for a civil traffic offense near Hobson and Broadway Road. The vehicle failed to yield and fled northbound on Hobson.
Officers lost sight of the vehicle but remained in the area, heading east on Franklin Avenue, Mesa police spokesperson Detective Brandi George said in a statement.
As officers continued on Franklin Avenue, they were struck by the suspect's vehicle as he attempted to turn onto the eastbound lanes of that street, George said. The suspect then headed southwest but hit a parked car with someone inside.
When the suspect attempted to put his car in reverse, officers got out of their patrol car and began firing their duty weapons at him, according to the Mesa police statement.
The suspect got away again, this time heading westbound on Franklin Avenue.
Officers in the area located the suspect's vehicle unoccupied near south Mesa Drive after he hit more unoccupied parked cars, George said.
According to the statement, an officer near Center Street and Eighth Avenue attempted to make contact with an already stopped vehicle. As the officer began speaking to the occupants of the vehicle, one man got out of the vehicle and ran from the officer.
The officer chased the man on foot and was able to take him into custody without further issue, according to the statement.
The man was then identified as 23-year-old Joaquin Santiago Orozco, who officers found was also the suspect who had been evading them.
No serious injuries were reported. The woman in the parked car Orozco crashed into was doing well and had no physical injuries. One officer suffered a head injury from the initial collision and was taken to a hospital but has since been released.
According to the statement, Orozco hac no serious injuries and was not struck by officer gunfire.
Orozco was booked into jail and is facing multiple felony charges including two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, two counts of aggravated DUI, unlawful flight from law enforcement and three counts of endangerment.
Reach breaking news reporter Kye Graves at klgraves@gannett.com or on Twitter @kyegraves.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Joaquin Orozco arrested after fleeing Mesa traffic stop
