Suspect flees scene after car accident

The Bloomington Police Department responded to a vehicle crash on the 600 block of North Washington Street at 2:49 a.m. Sunday, BPD Lt. David Drake said.

The crashed vehicle was stolen, along with two laptops, two Xboxs and two flat screen TVs, Drake and Ph.D. student Emanuele D’Artibale said.

The driver of the vehicle, a four-door Jeep Rubicon, fled the accident scene before BPD could arrive and has minor injuries.

D’Artibale, 29, was at a friend’s house when he heard a loud screech of tires and the sound of a collision.

The driver smashed his head against the windshield of the Jeep he was driving when he crashed it into a light pole, causing the vehicle to shatter where his head hit.

D’Artibale’s friend, Alex Schultze, came outside first, as the accident occurred immediately in front of Schultze’s residence. The driver, bleeding from his nose, got out of the car and asked Schultze for a towel, which Schultze provided along with a frozen bag of corn for an ice pack, D’Artibale said.

D’Artibale came outside his friend’s residence five minutes after he heard the collision.
He said when he went outside, the driver of the Jeep had fled northwest in response to police lights closing in.

D’Artibale figured that because the Rubicon is a manually operated vehicle, the driver might not have known how to operate it.

 Neighbors near the accident came outside when they heard the commotion and began to recognize their belongings in and around the Jeep.

The suspect is white, estimated 5 foot 10 inches, 160 pounds and was seen wearing a white button down shirt with a V-neck and blue jeans, Drake said.