Man faces charges in crash hurting 2 officers

7/7/2014

A 28-year-old East Toledo man is due back in court Friday after being arraigned over the weekend on charges accusing him of causing a traffic crash that injured two Toledo police officers.

Bond was set Saturday at $200,000 for Matthew Hartford of 308 Oakdale Ave., who is charged with two counts of felonious assault. He remained in the Lucas County jail on Sunday in lieu of bond, for which he has no 10-percent cash option, and is scheduled to appear at 9 a.m. Friday for a preliminary hearing before Toledo Municipal Court Judge Michelle Wagner.

Officers Jeron Ellis and Todd Mikolajczyk, both 30, were taken to Mercy St. Vincent Medical Center following the collision early Thursday at Greenwood Avenue and East Broadway in East Toledo.

Both were initially listed in serious condition, but by Sunday evening Mr. Ellis had been discharged and Mr. Mikolajczyk was in fair condition, according to a hospital spokesman.

Police said Hartford was fleeing an Ohio Highway Patrol trooper who had tried to stop him for speeding.

He ran several stop signs in East Toledo before colliding with the Toledo officers’‍ patrol vehicle, which was not involved in the chase and was traveling on East Broadway, according to the report.

The state trooper had broken off his pursuit moments before the collision.