Bowling Green Police arrested a Michigan man after he allegedly took a car without the owner’s permission, then hit several vehicles and stop signs while trying to flee from officers.
An officer patrolling downtown on New Year’s Eve, around 11:47 p.m., first saw the 2011 Chevy run a red light at the four corners, and turned on lights to pull over the car.
The driver of the Chevy, Zander Maclean, 19, of Monroe, Michigan, turned into the parking lot by the Flower Basket on South Main Street, then drove into City Parking Lot 2 where he reportedly ran over a stop sign. The car then struck two decorative columns near South Prospect and East Clough streets, then reportedly drove down the sidewalk on the north side of Clough Street.
As the police followed, Maclean struck a stop sign at South Summit, then another at South Enterprise. The car continued driving on sidewalks on both sides of Clough Street, until passing Troup Street, where it reportedly struck a masonry wall at a residence.
According to the police report, Maclean then drove into a private yard, struck a house, a car and an air conditioning unit. The car came to a stop after hitting two more parked vehicles, halting in the alley north of Clough and east of Troup.
Maclean reportedly struggled to get out of the car, had difficulty maintaining his balance and had a strong odor of alcohol. He reportedly told police he was on his way to Bowling Green to go to a bowling alley, but hadn’t reached the city yet.
Police reportedly found multiple open containers of alcohol in the car, as well as a container of marijuana. Maclean was taken to Wood County Hospital to be cleared medically before going to Wood County Jail.
According to the police report, while at the hospital Maclean threatened to kill an officer and his family.
About a half hour after police initiated the traffic stop downtown, another officer was flagged down by two men in the area of East Wooster Street and Manville Avenue. They told police that their friend, Maclean, had stolen one of their cars after getting drunk at a bar in the 200 block of East Wooster Street.
Maclean was cited for OVI refusal to be tested, underage possession of marijuana, underage possession of alcohol, open container in a motor vehicle, felony failure to comply, grand theft of a motor vehicle, aggravated menacing and driving with no operator’s license.
