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Salt truck driver accused of leading police on chase, spraying them with salt
Salt truck driver accused of leading police on chase, spraying them with salt
Salt truck driver accused of leading police on chase, spraying them with salt
Salt truck driver accused of leading police on chase, spraying them with salt
By Jennifer Edwards Baker | January 29, 2021 at 8:52 AM EST - Updated January 29 at 9:19 PM
READING, Ohio (FOX19) - A driver in a city of Cincinnati salt truck faces multiple charges after Reading police say he led them on a chase and sprayed salt on officers and a cruiser overnight.
Omar Armstrong of College Hill, 36, was arrested early Friday and is held at the Hamilton County jail on charges of attempted aggravated vehicular assault, failure to comply with police, reckless operation and traffic offenses. He pleaded not guilty during a brief arraignment. A judge set his bond at $9,000.
According to court records, a Reading officer saw a city of Cincinnati salt truck approach at a high rate of speed as police conducted a traffic stop along Reading Road near Sunnybrook Drive late Thursday.
The 2016 Freightliner truck nearly struck an officer and then threw salt on police and the prisoner they were taking into custody, police wrote in a sworn statement filed in Hamilton County Municipal Court.
Reading police say they tried to pull the salt truck over on Reading Road and Summit Avenue, but the driver looked back, raised the bed of the truck and turned on the spreader, dumping salt that covered the cruiser.
The salt truck then fled onto northbound Interstate 75 to the eastbound Ronald Reagan Cross County Highway, according to police.
The chase ended when Springfield Township police halted the truck after it exited the highway and fled onto Reading Road to Winton Road to Oakfield.
His attorney said in court Friday Armstrong was just doing his job, there was no intent to hurt anyone and claims that he nearly hit officers are exaggerated.
She also said he didn’t know police were pursuing him and pulled over when a supervisor contacted him.
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