Police arrest man after near-100-mph chase: Report

BOARDMAN, Ohio (WKBN) – Police officers were involved in a high-speed chase that resulted in an arrest early Sunday morning.

According to a Boardman police report, Robert Graffius, 49, drove past officers at a high rate of speed on Market Street around 1:20 a.m.

Police said the vehicle that Graffius was driving was traveling 86 miles per hour in a 45-mph zone. Reports said officers tried to pull the vehicle over, but it traveled into Beaver Township, reaching speeds of nearly 100 mph.

Officers had to terminate pursuits on two occasions due to the high speed.

Officers later noticed the vehicle near the intersection of Boardman Poland Road and California Avenue and attempted to stop it again. Reports said Graffius ran a red light at the intersection of Boardman Canfield Road and Market Street.

During the chase, reports said that Graffius swerved and nearly struck a vehicle and a semi-truck separately. Reports said that Graffius continued at a high rate of speed on Tippecanoe Road toward Canfield.

Reports said that officers with the Canfield Police Department set up spike strips on Boardman Canfield Road east of the OH-11 bridge. The vehicle came to a stop just east of Winona Avenue in Canfield after the spike strips deflated three of the vehicle’s tires.

Police took Graffius into custody on a charge of failure to comply, a fourth-degree felony, as well as several traffic violations.

Graffius’s bond was set in court on Tuesday, and he did not submit a plea. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for October 20.