Highway patrol: Van driver flees traffic stop, dies in crash

CLEVELAND – The Ohio State Highway Patrol says a van driver who fled from a trooper during an attempted traffic stop has crashed into a utility pole, killing himself and injuring two passengers.

The Highway Patrol has identified the man killed early Saturday as 30-year-old Cleveland resident Antonio Whitley.

A front-seat passenger, 25-year-old Ashley Martin, is hospitalized with serious injuries. A juvenile backseat passenger has been taken to a hospital for less-serious injuries.

The patrol says a trooper tried to stop Whitley’s van for running a red light shortly after 1 a.m. on Cleveland’s east side. The patrol says the trooper quickly ended a pursuit for safety reasons and then found the crashed van a short distance away.

Alcohol is believed to be a factor in the crash.