CLEARFIELD – An Oil City man has been accused of fleeing the scene of a DUI traffic stop and injuring two Clearfield Borough police officers in late October.
Terry Lee Boal, 37, has been charged by Officer Shawn Fye with aggravated assault, F2; fleeing or attempting to elude an officer, F3; recklessly endangering another person, M2; accident involving death/injury, M2; DUI, M; and seven summaries.
Boal waived his right to a preliminary hearing during centralized court Wednesday at the Clearfield County Jail. His bail is set at $30,000 monetary.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, Fye and Officer Alex Burkett were on patrol on Oct. 25. At approximately 12:56 a.m., the officers were traveling on South Third Street when a male driver pulled out from Boyer Avenue in a red passenger car. Fye had to stop to avoid striking the car.
The driver proceeded north on South Third Street, and Fye turned around in order to initiate a traffic stop. He activated his patrol unit’s emergency lights, and the male driver started to pull over to the right side in the area of North Third and East Locust streets but continued to just prior to East Pine Street.
Fye exited his unit to make contact with the driver while Burkett ran his registration information. Fye requested the male to present his driver’s license, registration and insurance. Fye could allegedly smell an intoxicating beverage coming from the car.
The male looked in the glove box for the requested information and handed Fye an insurance card. Then, he proceeded to look through the other paperwork he pulled from the glove box. Fye asked again for his driver’s license, and the male stated that he didn’t have it on him. He continued to look through the paperwork for his registration.
Fye asked the male to provide his name and date of birth, which he did. However, it had to be given multiple times, Fye said, because the male’s speech was slurred and difficult for him to understand.
Fye asked the male, now identified as Boal, to turn his car off because he believed he was under the influence of an intoxicating beverage. Boal complied and Burkett ran Boal’s information through County Control.
When asked, Boal indicated the car was registered to his girlfriend, and that he was from Oil City. Boal was asked to step from the car but leaned right and forward. Fye proceeded to reach into the open driver’s side window, at which time Boal started the vehicle despite verbal commands to stop.
Boal allegedly put the car in drive and accelerated while Fye was still holding on. Fye was beside the car for several feet until being struck by the “B” post and being spun while separating from Boal and the car.
Fye was in the middle of the roadway and could see Boal’s vehicle traveling toward a utility pole. He reportedly veered off to the right and avoided striking it.
Fye and Burkett retreated to their patrol unit and observed Boal travel onto Bigler Avenue. The officers followed with their emergency lights and siren activated.
While pursuing Boal, the officers observed tire marks at the top of Bigler Avenue just before Daisy Street. Boal had reportedly lost control of his car and struck the curb. Boal was then in the opposing lane of travel and passing a vehicle traveling east on Bigler Avenue.
The motorist pulled over to the right near East Seventh Street due to Boal passing in the opposing lane. Burkett maneuvered around the vehicle and Boal entered the right lane of travel but was swerving. He nearly struck a utility pole.
The officers said that Boal was traveling in excess of 60 miles per hour in a zone that was posted 30 mph. Fye could see sparks coming from underneath Boal’s car as it passed the East 12th Street area.
As Boal traveled under the Route 879 underpass, Fye saw that his (Boal’s) car had lost a tire. The officers continued to pursue Boal with their emergency lights and siren on. Boal continued to pass Beauty Drive with sparks still visible from beneath his car and smoke coming from its front end.
Boal traveled onto the bridge on U.S. Route 322 and the sparks and embers appeared to become greater; the smoke also became thicker and more abundant. As Boal approached Kurtz Road, his car came to a stop as it lost another tire.
The officers exited the patrol unit as Boal was exiting his car. When approaching the officers, he went to the ground with his hands up and said that he was “done.” Boal was then handcuffed by officers and escorted to the patrol unit.
Boal – when asked – refused to submit to a chemical blood test. He advised officers he was wanted for a “parole jump,” and officers verified he was wanted by the Venango County Sheriff’s Department. Boal was subsequently transported to county jail.
From the location of the initial traffic stop on North Third Street until the end of the pursuit on Route 322 is approximately 2.2 miles. Tire marks left by Boal’s car just prior to it becoming disabled were approximately 306 feet, according to the affidavit.
In a previous report, police said that both Fye and Burkett sought medical treatment for injuries at Penn Highlands Clearfield Hospital.