Yesterday, at 4:00 PM, officers were dispatched to the 400 block of E. Eureka for a single-car accident with injuries.
At the accident scene, officers encountered a male driver who had been involved in a rollover accident. Officers observed a 1998 Chevy Lumina resting in the yard of a residence with the driver trapped underneath the vehicle. Witnesses reported seeing the vehicle travel down N. Fourth Street, at a high rate of speed, before losing control, striking a power pole, and rolling over.
Officers determined that the injured driver, Steve Newsome, 54, of Urbana, was also the offender in a hit and run accident that had just occurred in the 00 block of E. Main Street at 3:30 PM.
At 3:32 PM, officers were dispatched to the 00 block of E. Main Street for a hit and run accident involving two vehicles. Newsome fled the scene of the accident and was immediately located by police near Walnut and Washington Streets. During the stop, he fled from police officers as they were in the process of issuing him a citation for operating an uninsured motor vehicle. Officers ended the call at 3:58 PM and informed METCAD that the offender would not be pursued. Within minutes, officers located Mr. Newsome after discovering that he had been involved in an accident.
At the scene of the rollover accident, several members of the public and multiple Champaign police officers immediately rendered assistance to the driver by lifting the vehicle off of him so that he could be pulled from the wreckage. Several of those who rendered aid, including police, suffered minor injuries during the extrication, but did not require medical attention.
The driver, Steve Newsome, is currently listed in stable condition at Carle Hospital.
Newsom has been issued citations for the following offenses: Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol, Operating an Uninsured Motor Vehicle and Fleeding and Eluding a Peace Officer.
The Champaign Police Department would like to thank the caring passerby who provided aid to the injured driver at the accident scene.