Driver who fled police sentenced to 4 years

11/16/2005

A man who drove a relative s recreational vehicle into the Maumee River last month while being pursued by police was convicted yesterday of charges related to the chase and a similar incident.

Timothy Kurth, 35, of 5058 Fairgreen Drive pleaded no contest to one count of aggravated assault on a police officer and two counts of failure to comply with the signal of a police officer. Lucas County Common Pleas Court Judge James Bates found Kurth guilty and sentenced him to four years in prison.

Kurth took his uncle s motor home on a joy ride Oct. 11, but the trip ended when he drove the vehicle into the river off a boat ramp at Cullen Park in Point Place in an attempt to elude police.

The pursuit began in West Toledo about 7:50 p.m. when he passed a police car, and the ensuing chase included speeds of 35 mph and Stop Sticks flattening the tires of the motor home.

Kurth was due in Common Pleas Court earlier that day for a hearing on charges from a chase Sept. 1 in which he hit a police vehicle at Hawley Street and Belmont Avenue. He was arrested after driving into a construction zone on Dorr Street.