May 24, 2012
Police are searching for three men who fled from a car accident scene in Scioto County-- one of the men, Shane White, is suspected in an armed robbery in Huntington.
The accident happened at about 1pm on State Route 348 near Northwest Schools in McDermott, Ohio. When the Ohio State Highway Patrol (OSHP) arrived at the scene, they discovered the three men who were in the car at the time of the crash took off.
It began early Friday morning -- shortly after midnight, with the armed robbery of a Speedway convenience store on Rt. 60 in Huntington. Police say Shane White was caught on tape by the store's security cameras.
West Virginia State Police said that a trooper saw a man running away from the gas station and chased him toward West Pea Ridge.
The man managed to get away by jumping off an embankment into a creek. Police say he later stole a 1995 Crown Victoria from the West Pea Ridge area.
That car ended up crashed into a guardrail on State Route 348 in McDermott, Ohio Friday afternoon, sixty miles away.
According to Lt. Mike Crispen of the Ohio State Highway Patrol:
"We became very concerned. It was right there in a school district. You have the kids in the school, you've got the faculty in the school."
All three schools in the area went on lockdown: Nobody in or out for several hours while police searched for the suspect. Eventually, students were allowed to go home, but in some cases, with a police escort.
An officer actually rode on the bus with the kids and dropped them off to their parents to make sure each one of them was safe.
Lt. Crispen says that was our main priority our main mission to make sure the kids were safe in the school.
Officers say there was no immediate danger to the students in the Northwest School District, but they were not willing to take chances.
Witnesses in the area told WSAZ they saw helicopters up in the air searching for the men.
The principal at Northwest Elementary tells WSAZ the school went into lockdown between 12-1pm due to this situation. Troopers say they've identified all three suspects, but have yet to catch them.
Police have several units in the area looking for Shane White right now. They tell WSAZ that they have leads and sightings. Police say the two passengers with White when he crashed the car are believed to be in Pike County, Ohio, away from Shane White.
Call 9-1-1 if you have any information.
Stay with WSAZ.com for the latest on this developing story.
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