CLEARFIELD – A 19-year-old Philipsburg man who has been accused of fleeing and eluding police and recklessly endangering another person waived his right to a preliminary hearing yesterday during centralized court at the Clearfield County Jail, according to court documents.
Jacob J. Estright, 19, of Philipsburg has been charged with fleeing or attempting to elude police, recklessly endangering another person, reckless driving and related offenses. His bail has been set at $5,000 unsecured.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, at approximately 9:30 p.m. on May 23, police followed a red, four-wheeler that was traveling on Keystone Hill Road in Decatur Township. It turned right onto Blue Spruce Road at which time police activated its warning lights and siren to stop the ATV.
The ATV then sped up to flee and turned left onto Decatur Street before turning right onto Taylor Street. While traveling on Taylor Street, the suspect failed to stop at a posted stop sign and proceeded to travel through the grass at an elementary school and through several yards.
The ATV continued traveling through a field at which point police couldn’t follow it any longer. Police turned off its warning lights and siren and drove around searching for the ATV. At some point, Clearfield County 911 contacted police and advised the ATV and its occupants were in the same field. Police returned to the field and located the ATV and two men.
Police identified one of the men as Estright, who was the operator of the ATV. A woman, Roseanna Couturiaux, was with the men when police arrived. She had observed police attempting to stop the ATV as well as it entering the field. She said the ATV shut down and the men were starting to leave the field area. However, she stopped them and contacted police.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, police handcuffed and searched the men. Both were placed in the police car. The ATV was towed from the scene. Estright’s passenger was removed from the police car and contacted his mother. He was later released to his mother.
Estright was transported to the police station and agreed to speak to police after being advised his Miranda rights. He wrote a statement about driving the ATV and attempting to flee from police. On May 24, the defendant’s passenger was advised of his rights in the presence of his mother. Both agreed to speak with police. The passenger related his statement both verbally and in writing, which confirmed police statements.
