Springfield Man Tried to Elude Police, Arrested for DUI After Foot Pursuit

The following release was provided by the Springfield Police Department.

On Monday morning 03/18/2013 at 12:41 am, Officer Keith Christopher
was in a marked patrol vehicle on Center Street traveling towards the Morris
Avenue intersection.

A motor vehicle, a green Volvo sedan, turned onto Center Street from Morris Avenue almost striking the officer's police vehicle head on. As the vehicle sped past, Officer Christopher turned around and went after the Volvo through the Hannah Street intersection where it then pulled into a driveway as the driver ducked down in the car.

As the officer stopped and turned on his emergency lights he observed the driver running off into the rear yard of a house on Center Street with the officer in foot pursuit. The subject continued running between the rear yards on both
Center Street and the adjacent street of Caldwell Place while ignoring repeated
commands to stop and surrender and jumping over property fences. After
approximately 10 minutes of searching the area the suspect was spotted and apprehended by Officer Marcos Vaz along with Officer Christopher.

The subsequent investigation resulted in the suspect, Andrew Orth, 23, of
Springfield, being arrested and charged with Driving a Motor Vehicle While Under the Influence of Alcoholic Beverages, Operating a Motor Vehicle with a Suspended Driver License, Reckless Driving and Resisting Arrest by Flight from a Police Officer. He was later released from custody with an initial court appearance date set for the Union County Superior Court on 03/22/2013.