Police: Driver intentionally runs red light, causes accident

Police say a 23-year-old man intentionally ran a red light and crashed into a pickup carrying four people, two of them children.

The collision occurred at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the intersection of Pawnee and Oliver, Wichita Police Lt. James Espinoza said. By the time officers arrived, the suspect had fled. Officers located him a short time later, and he was identified by the passengers of the pickup.

The suspect said he ran the light because he was upset that his title loan company, which was not identified, had not given him what he felt was the value of his 2001 Lexus, Espinoza said.

“He could have killed someone, so we’re very fortunate it was just property damage,” Espinoza said.

The suspect was arrested on suspicion of four counts of aggravated battery.

Espinoza said the case is being worked as a criminal investigation because the collision appears to be intentional. The case will be presented to the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office, which will determine what, if any, charges will be filed.

Four people were in the pickup when it was struck, Espinoza said: two men, ages 59 and 19, and two children, a 13-year-old girl and an 8-year-old boy. The accident caused minor injuries, but no one was taken to the hospital.

This story was originally published June 1, 2016 at 12:26 PM with the headline "Police: Driver intentionally runs red light, causes accident."