CLEVELAND — For a fourth time in six months, a Parma Police chase ends up in Cleveland’s Old Brooklyn neighborhood, and another innocent driver is taking the brunt of it.
We don’t just report the initial story—we follow through to its conclusion. Read and watch our previous reporting on this story below and see more stories that we've followed through on here.
Cary Pekarcsik survived the crash last Thursday, but he no longer has a car to get around.
Parma Police say the chase is under review.
Surveillance video shows a car going right into oncoming traffic and smashing nearly head-on into Pekarcsik’s van.
“The police, Parma of course, was chasing this guy through traffic,” Pekarcsik said.
It was just 1 p.m. on Feb. 29.
Pekarcsik was pulling out of a parking lot onto Broadview Road toward the intersection at Schaaf Road.
He was hit on the passenger side in the curb lane.
“I said, 'Thank God he didn’t hit me full force,' because I’m sure I would have been hurt or dead,” Pekarcsik said.
A Parma police report shows officers first clocked the car going 44 mph in a 25 mph on Broadview Road.
The officers pulled behind the car that stopped at the intersection.
The report states the officers saw the driver and passenger frantically moving bags around.
Officers hit lights and sirens for a traffic stop when the car took off.
“I did not see this car flying down Broadview,” Pekarcsik said.
The report shows the car zipped through traffic lights into Old Brooklyn, hitting Pekarcsik’s van before the driver and passenger bailed down the road.
“I was kind of shaken wondering now what are you going to do,” Pekarcsik said.
Parma Police say that the whole thing took 37 seconds from when they called out the pursuit to the suspect's running, but didn't notify Cleveland until after the crash which was just over the city line.
This is the fourth Parma police chase into Old Brooklyn since last August. Previous pursuits resulted in pretty serious and deadly outcomes.
"I was going in and out of consciousness, and I was like, 'I hope this wasn’t it,'” Esenje Goodman said.
Last August, Goodman thought she was going to die when she was hit head-on by a wrong-way driver on 176.
Parma was chasing the other car moments before.
Two brothers died in the crash.
Just days earlier, Parma chased a car that ended in a deadly fiery crash at Pearl Road and Woburn Avenue.
Last November, a 70-year-old man was hurt in a T-bone crash at Pearl and Altoona.
“I think they’re cowboys, they want to get on a horse and chase somebody. It’s crazy,” Pekarcsik said.
In Goodman’s case, Parma Police determined the officer was in accordance with their chase policy.
But the two back-to-back August chases prompted city leaders in Cleveland to call Parma for a sit-down.
“Parma should not come chasing them out of a bat out of hell into Cleveland,” Pekarcsik said.
Pekarcsik is considering filing a claim with Parma.
“I’m disappointed, really," Pekarcsik said. He’s now relying on a neighbor for rides to the store.
The van was his only vehicle.
“Out of luck, definitely I’m walking to the dentist on Thursday,” Pekarcsik said.
The Parma police report in this recent chase shows the driver in the suspect car had warrants with the Cuyahoga Sheriff’s Office and Garfield Heights Police.
He was arrested for speeding, running from police and having a crack pipe.
News 5 was told the body and cash cam weren’t available yet, but police are working to get it to us.
