Police: Driver careens into Pershing Court apartment fleeing officers
A Republic man is behind bars without bail after crashing into a Pershing Court apartment early Monday while allegedly fleeing police, causing an evacuation and $30,000 in damages.
Benjamin Harold Randolph IV, 35, crashed into the rear of 55 Pershing Court at about 1:30 a.m. with seven people inside the apartment, ages 6 to 34, according to court documents.
The row of apartments shook when the car hit the building, said Dominique Blake, who lives nearby with her 1-month-old baby and 6-year-old son. She was evacuated with her children and stayed the night at her mother’s house.
A representative at Pershing Court Manor declined comment on the repairs and evacuation. Workers were repairing damage to the apartment Monday afternoon.
State police first saw Randolph’s Kia on Searight Avenue at about 1:13 a.m. Troopers turned in his direction and he immediately “took off,” speeding through a stop sign at the Dunlap Street intersection, according to the affidavit of probable cause filed in his case.
Police allege he continued speeding down Coolspring Street and onto Carlisle Street, where he turned off his lights to evade police. The driver lost control of his vehicle at a dead end and crashed into the apartment, causing $30,000 worth of damage and sending gas spraying from a line which “could have ignited at any moment,” according to police.
Randolph allegedly led officers on a brief foot chase before he was arrested.
“I really don’t feel comfortable staying here after that,” Blake said, nursing her baby on the couch.
She said if the car had crashed into her apartment, it would have careened into the bedroom of her 6-year-old son. Less than four months ago, she said a bullet came into her home, making the crash the second scare in less than six months since she moved into the apartment. On Nov. 27, Marquell L. Bailey, 25, was fatally shot at 61 Pershing Court.
Blake said she is hoping to move to a new apartment where she feels safe with her children.
“I just feel like I’m stuck in the middle of so much chaos,” she said.
Randolph was denied bail in the case. He is awaiting trial for two previous flight cases from 2017 for which he posted $100,000 bond in each case.
He has been charged seven times for driving with a suspended license, according to court paperwork.
He is charged with causing a catastrophe, criminal mischief, fleeing or attempting to elude officers, seven counts of accident involving property damage and multiple traffic violations.