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Three Charged After Pursuit That Ends On The Thruway

Ontario County Sheriff patch

Three people have been charged after a chase that ended with  the suspects’ car crashing into a State Police car and minor injuries to the trooper.

Ontario County Deputies say the Saturday afternoon incident involved two men and one woman, all from Rochester, getting ready to leave a Walmart in the Town of Hopewell with nearly $1200 worth of Lego toys that officials say they did not pay for.

Deputies say the three eventually did leave the merchandise behind, and the car they were driving matched the description of a vehicle involved in a Friday afternoon theft at the same Walmart.

Authorities say on Saturday, at about 4:00 p.m., the car then took off after it was spotted on Main Street in Canandaigua, with two deputy cars following. Deputies say the car was speeding on Route 332 and it hit a set of spike strips they laid down deflating one of the tires of the suspects’ car.

But they kept driving onto the Thruway, eventually colliding with the rear of a State Police car. The trooper complained of back pain and a minor burn to his leg. His car hit a deputy’s car, but that officer was not injured. Authorities say the three people then fled on foot into a wooded area and were quickly taken into custody.

22 year old William Johnson was charged with attempted grand larceny. 23 year old Darrel Hughes and 26 year old Ella Cotton were charged with grand larceny, and Hughes is facing traffic charges because he was the driver.

Randy Gorbman is WXXI's director of news and public affairs. Randy manages the day-to-day operations of WXXI News on radio, television, and online.