Pennsylvania

Lehigh Valley Police Chase Ends With Suspected Car Thief in Freezing Cold Quarry

A suspect wound up nearly freezing to death in a Lehigh Valley quarry after running away from a stolen car during a traffic stop Friday night.

The wild scene played out after Slatington Borough officers pulled over a car near the Sunoco gas station along Main Street around 10 p.m., said Slatington Borough Police Chief David Rachman.

Officers learned of the car being stolen and attempted to take three occupants into custody, said police.

The driver, however, made a run for it, darting into a wooded area behind the nearby gas station. Officers tried to Taser the man with no success, said investigators.

While running around in the darkness, the driver – who hails from Coatesville, Pennsylvania – fell about 30 feet down an embankment and into a quarry partially filled with water, said police.

Officers threw the man a flotation device and waited for the required wet suit-clad rescuers to arrive to pluck the man from the cold water, said Rachman.

The rescue took about 40 minutes and the man was treated at a nearby hospital for hypothermia, said Rachman.

Police didn’t immediately identify the suspect who will face a slew of charges including car theft. The man also had active warrants out from Chester County, said police.

The two passengers in the car were taken in for questioning. A female passenger was released while police held a male passenger on an outstanding warrant from Chester County.

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