MAUMEE, Ohio — A man was arrested in Maumee Friday after allegedly fleeing the scene of a crash and hiding in brush.
According to a Maumee police report, officers responded to US 24 after a vehicle had crashed into the median barrier on the ramp leading to I-475 south around 6:45 p.m.
Officers spoke with the woman in the vehicle, who, after officers spoke with her, admitted that her fiancé, Casey Tajblik, had been the one driving. Tajblik was no longer in the vehicle.
Police used Ohio Department of Transportation traffic cameras to determine the driver of the crashed vehicle got out of the vehicle and ran west of I-475. After viewing the video, police said in their report they also saw a man wearing all black running across a field west of the roadway.
Officers dispatched additional police to try to cut the suspect off near Side Cut Metropark.
Police sought assistance from the Perrysburg Police Department to find the suspect with a drone. Maumee police also used their own department's drone during the investigation.
Police said a thermal lens helped them locate Tajblik. An image from the drone footage, which Maumee police provided to WTOL 11, is included below:
Ultimately, Tajblik was located in the brush and taken into custody around 9 p.m., more than two hours after the initial search began. According to the police report, Tajblik appeared intoxicated.
Police transported Tajblik to the Lucas County Jail, where he was charged with OVI, hit-skip and failure to control.
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