Police Chase Suspect Crashes Into Rankin Bar

(Photo Credit: Brian Grystar/KDKA)

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RANKIN (KDKA) – A man led police on a chase through Rankin, which ended with the suspect crashing into a bar early Wednesday morning.

According to police, officers sitting at the border of Braddock and Rankin attempted to pull over a white Buick for a DUI check around 1:30 a.m.

The driver sped off at a high rate of speed through several Rankin streets. At that time, police decided that it was a chase not worth pursuing.

However, the vehicle continued to travel at excessive speeds and eventually crashed into a bar on Kenmawr Street.

“Officers tried to conduct a traffic stop on the driver of this vehicle. Due to the high rate of speed, they terminated the pursuit. Probably about 50 yards down the street here is a real sharp bend with a dip in it. The driver hit that dip at excessive speeds of over 100 mph, lost control of the vehicle, went end over end and landed into Jerry’s Bar,” Rankin Police Chief Ryan D. Wooten said.

Neighbors said they felt their homes rumble and shake from the force of the accident.

“I just heard a big collision,” Rissaun McKnight said.

“It felt like a nightmare honestly. I didn’t believe what I was seeing,” Richard McKnight said.

At that time, the suspect bailed out of the car, scaled an eight-foot fence and jumped down an eight-foot ledge before police were able to take him into custody.

The suspect has been identified as 29-year-old Gregory Lemont Watson. He was taken to an area hospital to be checked out, but is not believed to have suffered any major injuries.

“Officers got into a scuffle with the driver and took him into custody. It’s a typical accident involving DUIs, these folks are never hurt. They’re always the one who’s causing the chaos and taking folks’ life, but in this case, this guy, I don’t think he had a scratch on him,” Chief Wooten said.

After being checked out at the hospital, Watson was taken to the Allegheny County Jail, where he is facing a list of charges including, DUI and driving without a license.

While all of that was going on, Jerry’s Bar, which has been vacant for about six years, caught fire and was destroyed.

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