Sterling man charged with fleeing police, DUI
STERLING – A 20-year-old Rock Falls man was arrested Friday night and charged with a number of criminal and traffic offenses for allegedly leading police on a car chase through Sterling and Rock Falls while driving drunk.
Christopher J. Ryan is charged with aggravated fleeing, DUI, reckless driving, speeding, two counts of improper lane usage, disobeying a stop sign, failure to signal, and consumption of alcohol as a minor, a misdemeanor.
Around 11:40 p.m. Friday, Sterling Police attempted to pull over Ryan at East Second Street and Sixth Avenue after Ryan hit the curb and began driving on the sidewalk, according to Sterling Police Officer Pat Bartel. When police turned around to pull him over, Ryan fled over the First Avenue Bridge to Rock Falls and a chase ensued.
At the intersection of First Avenue and East Second Street, Ryan lost control of the car, which spun onto the curb and continued north through a yard near Any Time Fitness in Rock Falls.
Ryan’s car finally stopped when he hit a metal gate and fence owned by Sterling Steel Corp. near Wallace Street and Avenue G. Ryan then fled the vehicle on foot and was caught a short time later. Police smelled alcohol on Ryan’s breath as they got him in handcuffs, Bartel said.
He was taken to the Whiteside County Jail in lieu of bond.
