Car slams into pickup truck and tree as Reading driver runs a stop sign while fleeing police, cops say

Steven Henshaw, Reading Eagle, Pa.
·2 min read

May 26—A car driven by a Reading man crashed into a pickup truck and a tree at 12th and Douglass streets while fleeing police, city police said Wednesday.

Ovidiu Burlacu, 27, of the 1500 block of Eckert Avenue was taken into custody at the scene of the crash Tuesday about 3:45 p.m.

He was committed to Berks County Prison in lieu of $10,000 bail after arraignment before District Judge David Yoch in Reading Central Court on charges of fleeing police, reckless endangerment and numerous traffic offenses.

According to police:

Officer Michael Barbarics was driving a marked patrol vehicle northbound in the 700 block of North 13th Street.

While stopped at a red light at Douglass Street, Barbarics saw a compact car going at a high rate of speed northbound in the southbound lane of North 13th. The car ran the red light, turning left and heading westbound on Douglass.

Sgt. Aaron Demko, who was nearby in another unit, activated his emergency lights and siren.

Both police vehicles pursued the driver westbound on Douglass. The car proceeded through the intersection with North 12th, without stopping at the stop sign, and struck the driver side of a pickup truck that had entered the intersection, then veered into a tree in the 1100 block of Douglass.

There were no injuries.

Barbarics sat the driver of the car, Ovidiu Burlacu, on nearby steps and asked him why he didn't stop when he saw the lights of police vehicles.

He told the office he got scared because he has outstanding warrants for parole violations, as well as a suspended driver's license.

The officer asked him why he was going so fast in the first place. Burlacu said he was following a van on North 13th and the driver of that vehicle kept tapping the brakes.

Burlacu said this angered him so he sped up, but realized the vehicles in front of him were coming to a stop. To avoid a collision, he steered into the oncoming lane.

Recommended Stories

  • Man who crashed into Visalia house crashed into same home in 2019

    Visalia Police say Hammond was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol when he crashed a Dodge Ram into the same home on Saturday.

  • New Hampshire Police put out active arrest warrant for Marilyn Manson on charges of assault

    Manson has also been accused of sexual assault by his former assistant and actress Esmé Bianco, as well as being accused of abuse by Evan Rachel Wood.

  • Feds Charge 8 Members of Burglary Crew Targeting Asian Homeowners in NJ

    Eight members of a burglary crew that allegedly targeted Asian homeowners have been charged with “conspiracy to commit interstate transportation of stolen property” by New Jersey federal authorities. Interstate syndicate: The defendants, identified as Rabine Armour, Kevin Burton, Kevin Jackson, Thomas Rodgers, James Hurt, Sherman Glasco, Randi Barr and Terrance Black, were reportedly responsible for over 50 home break-ins in multiple states from 2016 to 2019, reported NJ.com.

  • Vanessa Redgrave Will Not Be Appearing Alongside Kevin Spacey in New Italian Film

    Louis Nero, a producer on L'uomo Che Disegnò Dio, previously confirmed Kevin Spacey's involvement in the project and that Vanessa Redgrave would be appearing in the film if she could travel from England to Italy

  • The Ferrari SF90 Is All About Performance, Not Engagement

    Ferrari's first production hybrid is outrageously fast, but does it need to be?

  • Biden Defends Trump Approval of Conoco Arctic Oil Project

    (Bloomberg) -- The Justice Department is defending the Trump administration’s approval of a massive ConocoPhillips Alaska Inc. project in federal court, over the objections of environmentalists who say the government didn’t adequately consider the venture’s effect on polar bears and the climate.In a filing with the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska, the Biden administration said Wednesday that Conoco’s Willow project in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska was approved only after years of analysis, consultation and public input.“Plaintiffs seek to stop the extraction of resources from the petroleum reserve by cherry-picking the records” of the Bureau of Land Management, the Fish and Wildlife Service and the Army Corps of Engineers, the administration told the court.President Joe Biden previously directed the Interior Department to review its 2020 approval of the Willow project, which has the potential to produce 150,000 barrels of oil per day. The project could include as many as five drilling sites, hundreds of miles of ice roads, an airstrip and a gravel mine site, among other infrastructure.Conservation and indigenous groups have argued the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management failed to sufficiently analyze the environmental and climate impact of the project. Environmentalists also have argued that planned gravel mining activities imperil a potential denning habitat for polar bears. In February, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued an emergency order blocking ConocoPhillips from opening a gravel mine site and building roads.The three Republican members of Alaska’s congressional delegation -- Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan as well as Representative Don Young -- pressed the issue with Biden in the Oval Office on Monday after he signed into law a measure that allows cruise ships to resume visits to the state, according to a person familiar with the matter. Sullivan even handed the president and White House staff a full-color one-page briefing on the project to help make his case.In its filing with the court, the Biden administration argued the federal government followed applicable clean water, animal protection and environmental laws in approving the project. And, the administration noted, the Willow venture is set to take place on “valid leases” within the petroleum reserve, where Congress has specifically mandated oil development.Environmentalists blasted the administration’s move Wednesday.“It’s incredibly disappointing to see the Biden administration defending this environmentally disastrous project,” Kristen Monsell, a lawyer at the Center for Biological Diversity said in a news release. “President Biden promised climate action and our climate can’t afford more huge new oil-drilling projects.”The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment late Wednesday night.Representatives of ConocoPhillips did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.More stories like this are available on bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.

  • The Mercedes-AMG’s Formula 1-Inspired Hypercar Roars Like an Actual Race Car

    Footage from a track test documented the racecar-like sound of the forthcoming hypercar.

  • U.S. downgrades Mexico's air safety rating

    Mexican airlines will be barred from adding new flights to the United States after the U.S. downgraded its aviation safety rating on Tuesday (May 25).The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said it would increase scrutiny of Mexican airlines, but also offered expertise and resources to resolve the issues.Mexico was the most common international destination for U.S. air travelers last month. But now the FAA has downgraded it from Category 1, which signifies compliance with international standards, to Category 2, the lowest level.Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador had urged U.S. authorities not to downgrade the country, arguing it was compliant.The President of the country's Air Transport Chamber, Luis Noriega, says the downgrade means Mexican airlines will not be able to meet growing demand, particularly after the health crisis."We are in a process of recovery. Demand is increasing gradually and unfortunately national airlines will not be able to take advantage of this increase in demand. They will be left out of opportunities in air traffic between Mexico and the United States for as long as the category 2 stays in place."Shares in Mexican airline Aeromexico fell nearly 10% on Tuesday afternoon after the downgradeThe FAA downgraded Mexico for about four months back in 2010.Only a handful of countries are currently rated Category 2 by the FAA, including Bangladesh, Pakistan, Thailand and Malaysia.

  • Katy Perry Says She Thinks About Passing Down Her Wardrobe to Daughter Daisy Dove 'All the Time'

    Katy Perry shares 9-month-old daughter Daisy Dove with fiancé Orlando Bloom

  • She fled to Louisiana after her Arlington boyfriend was found dead. She’s back in Texas.

    Leah Franklin is charged with the murder of her boyfriend in January 2020 in Arlington.

  • Victims in San Jose mass shooting identified

    Authorities have identified the eight people killed on Wednesday morning during a mass shooting at a light-rail yard in San Jose, California. The victims are Paul Delacruz Megia, 42; Taptejdeep Singh, 36; Adrian Balleza, 29; Jose Dejesus Hernandez III, 35; Timothy Michael Romo, 49; Michael Joseph Rudometkin, 40; Abdolvahab Alaghmandan, 63; and Lars Kepler Lane, 63. "Our hearts are broken," San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo said.

  • For Native Americans, Harvard and other colleges fall short

    When Samantha Maltais steps onto Harvard’s campus this fall, she’ll become the first member of the Aquinnah Wampanoag tribe to attend its prestigious law school. More than 350 years ago, Caleb Cheeshahteaumuck, an Aquinnah Wampanoag man, became the first Native American to graduate from the Cambridge, Massachusetts, university — the product of its 1650 charter calling for the education of “English and Indian youth of this country.” “Coming from a tribal community in its backyard, I’m hyper aware of Harvard’s impact,” said Maltais, the 24-year-old daughter of her tribe’s chairwoman.

  • Exclusive: Hong Kong security chief threatens tycoon Lai's bankers with jail if they deal in his accounts

    Hong Kong's security chief sent letters to media tycoon Jimmy Lai and branches of HSBC and Citibank this month threatening up to seven years' jail for any dealings with the billionaire's accounts in the city, according to documents seen by Reuters. The letters, signed by Secretary for Security John Lee, were sent to Lai after the Hong Kong authorities announced the freezing of his majority stake in publisher Next Digital and local accounts of three companies owned by him under a sweeping new national security law. One of Lai's financial advisers said that while the amount of funds in the accounts was relatively small, they represented the Hong Kong management end of a global network of banking relationships covering his private wealth.

  • Sinopharm's two COVID-19 shots effective, study says

    Two COVID-19 vaccines from China's Sinopharm showed more than 70% efficacy against symptomatic cases, but it remains unclear how much protection they provide against severe or asymptomatic cases, according to the first detailed result of a large late-stage study published to the public. A vaccine developed by a Wuhan-based subsidiary of Sinopharm was 72.8% effective against symptomatic COVID-19 at least two weeks after second injection, based on interim results, the peer-reviewed study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed on Wednesday. Another vaccine developed by a Beijing-based institute linked to Sinopharm, which this month obtained emergency use approval by the World Health Organization (WHO), showed a 78.1% efficacy, the paper said.

  • Marc Gasol was at center of some Lakers adjustments in Game 2 against Suns

    Marc Gasol's presence was felt during the Lakers' Game 2 win over the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday.

  • Reward hits $200,000 for road rage gunman who shot boy, 6, dead because his mom flipped him off

    Police are calling for any witnesses to come forward, especially if they have dashcam videos

  • Dallas Cowboys hire familiar foe, former New York Giants coach as a consultant

    Ben McAdoo, who also coached quarterbacks in Green Bay, is the fourth Cowboys assistant with head coaching experience.

  • Brad Pitt awarded joint custody of children with Angelina Jolie

    The actor has been granted joint custody of his children with Angelina Jolie after a court battle.

  • Arizona GOP legislators votes to strip powers from the Democratic secretary of state after she slammed the state's GOP-led 2020 election audit

    Hobbs responded to the proposal, which still has to pass the full legislature, calling it an attack on Arizona voters.

  • Accepting award, Romney faults extremes of political divide

    U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney faulted those on both extremes of the nation’s political divide Wednesday as he accepted the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award. Romney was presented with the award in recognition of his decision to become the only Republican to split with his party and vote to convict former President Donald Trump during his first impeachment trial. “Many of us have been disappointed of late by the actions of some people who’ve chosen the easy way, playing to the crowd, itching the ears of the resentful with conspiracies and accusations,” the Utah Republican said Wednesday.