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Texas Man Jailed Following Chase, Crash
By Staff Reports
The Tube City Almanac
October 21, 2020
Posted in: Crime and Police News
A Texas man remains in Allegheny County Jail on charges that he led officers on a chase through McKeesport, then bailed out of his vehicle following a crash in Dravosburg.
City police used an aerial drone and a tracking dog to help locate Kendall L. Mikell, 33, of Fort Worth, who remains jailed in lieu of $100,000 bond pending a preliminary hearing Nov. 23 before Magisterial District Judge Eugene Riazzi.
City and Allegheny County police were working a crime suppression detail on Walnut Street, Downtown, on the evening of Sept. 18 when a black Toyota sedan with Texas license plates turned onto Shaw Avenue, traveling at a high rate of speed.
Officers followed the vehicle and attempted to stop it on Jenny Lind Street, according to a police report, but the driver would not yield.
At one point, police said, the driver — identified by police as Mikell — slowed down and allowed a McKeesport police car to pull alongside of his car. When the police officer pulled up, police said Mikell rammed her cruiser several times and forced it into a parked vehicle along Olive Street.
Police followed Mikell onto Locust Street and Lysle Boulevard and allege that at several points, he crossed into oncoming traffic before traveling onto the Duquesne-McKeesport Bridge.
According to a report, McKeesport police terminated the pursuit for safety reasons about five minutes after the initial incident.
A short time later, police allege that Mikell’s vehicle collided with other cars on Route 837 in Dravosburg, at the railroad crossing near the Kinder-Morgan oil terminal. Witnesses told police that Mikell fled the accident scene on foot, up a hillside along the railroad tracks.
Swissvale police brought a tracking dog to the scene and were joined by volunteers from Port Vue’s Vigilant Hose Co., who used an unmanned aerial drone with heat detection equipment to help search the area, according to a report.
McKeesport police said Mikell was located by the Swissvale K-9 unit along the river bank just after 7 p.m. He was taken to UPMC McKeesport Hospital for evaluation.
Police said they recovered suspected ecstasy and cocaine residue in Mikell’s car.
Mikell is charged by McKeesport police with four counts of aggravated assault, fleeing or eluding a police officer, resisting arrest, escape, leaving the scene of an accident, two counts of possession of controlled substances, driving under the influence of controlled substances, driving without a license, reckless driving and a moving violation.
One officer sustained an injury during the search for Mikell, according to a report.
Originally published October 21, 2020.
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