At 8:06 p.m. July 24, Charles County Sheriff’s Officer T. Yates observed a white Ford Crown Victoria spin tires on St. Charles Parkway near St. Ignatius Drive in Waldorf and speed away northbound, weaving through traffic and passing on the shoulder of the road.
Officer Yates attempted to stop the vehicle as it turned south onto Leonardtown Road but the driver fled at a high rate of speed until he lost control and the vehicle crashed into a telephone pole.
The driver, James Cornell Ford, 19, of Oxon Hill, was arrested without incident and charged with reckless driving, failure to stop at a red light, driving without a license, passing on the shoulder, failure to obey traffic control devices, speeding, negligent driving and fleeing and eluding.
A teenage passenger in the vehicle was not charged and was released to his father. Ford was held at the Charles County Detention Center pending an appearance before a district court commissioner.