Columbus Township Trustee Ben Jackson and his wife Amy suffered minor injuries after being involved in a chain-reaction hit-and-run accident at Central Avenue and U.S. 31 this morning.
At about 8:30 a.m. this morning, Jackson and his wife were traveling behind a minivan southbound on Central and were stopped at U.S. 31, when a Cadillac rear-ended Jackson’s truck, causing it to strike the minivan in front of it, said Sgt. Alyson Eichel, Columbus Police Department spokesman.
The driver of the Cadillac, later identified as Daniel R. Murray, 36, of 3301 McCullough Lane, then backed up, did a U-turn and headed north on Central Avenue, Eichel said.
Because of damage to the Cadillac’s front end, officers were able to track leaking fluid from the car from where it drove away and witnesses helped officers locate the vehicle in a garage in the 3300 block of McCullough Lane, Eichel said.
When officers arrived, and began requesting a search warrant at the scene, Murray ran away from the residence on foot and was pursued by Columbus police officers for about two blocks, when he stopped, and was then taken into custody, Eichel said.
Murray was taken to Columbus Regional Hospital to be checked out and then to the Bartholomew County Jail on a preliminary charge of leaving the scene of an accident, Eichel said.
The Jacksons were treated and released from CRH and the occupants of the minivan were not believed to be injured, according to investigators.
