The truck driven by Isaias Garcia and Oscar Vargas ended up in a ditch after leading police on a high-speed chase early Saturday morning.
Courtesy Hazleton Police
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HAZLETON — A high-speed chase through the streets of Hazleton early Saturday morning ended in a crash and two arrests after the suspects attempted to elude officers.
Isaias Garcia, 37, and Oscar Vargas, 28 were arrested and charged with criminal conspiracy, aggravated assault and multiple other offenses after leading police on a chase that ended with their truck crashing into a ditch and rolling over.
Around 2 a.m. Saturday, police on patrol noticed a Dodge truck traveling at a very high rate of speed. The officers turned on the emergency lights to initiate a traffic stop, at which point the truck ran a red light and fled south on Poplar Street.
Additional officers were called to assist, and multiple officers had to take evasive action to avoid the truck, which struck a cop car and a barrier but continued to flee from the police onto Interstate 81.
The truck took the ramp to McAdoo and Tamaqua, and rolled into a ditch after colliding with a sign. One of the passengers, Garcia, was outside the vehicle while Vargas had to be extricated from the wreckage.
Garcia struggled with police as they attempted to take him into custody, to the point where a Taser was deployed to subdue him.
Officers found $676 in U.S. currency and suspected marijuana inside the vehicle.
Garcia and Vargas were transported to Lehigh Valley Hospital-Hazleton to be treated, and Garcia was eventually transported to a local trauma center.
Vargas was released and transported back to the Hazleton Police Department. He was arraigned on Saturday afternoon in front of Judge Joseph Spagnuolo Jr., Plains Township, where he was deemed a flight risk and a danger to society, and was denied bail.