Hit-Skip Driver Leads Police on 4-mile Chase

A Kent welder is in jail today after leading police on a nearly 4 mile chase after crashing into a car and speeding away.

Perry L. Bivins, 47, of Ravenna, faces numerous charges, including drunk driving, after an early morning crash near the intersection of S.R. 261 and South Water Street.

Bivins crashed into the back of a car driven by Tina M. Scherer, a Brimfield resident, just after midnight on March 3, according to Portage County court records.

"After that, he took off," Kent Police Lt. Paul Canfield said. "There was a short chase."

Police followed Bivins east on S.R. 261 until he turned onto S.R. 59 and started driving towards Ravenna. Police stopped Bivins almost four miles from the crash near 2301 S.R. 59 in Franklin Township, according to a police report.

Canfield said Bivins struggled with officers and refused a breathalyzer test. Scherer was transported to a local hospital where she received stitches for a minor cut and was released.

Bivins, who told police he works as a welder at on Fairchild Avenue, was charged with a range of offenses by police related to the crash and chase including aggravated vehicular assault, a second-degree felony, driving drunk, a first-degree misdemeanor, failure to comply, a first-degree misdemeanor, and failure to stop after an accident with an injury, a fifth-degree felony.

He pleaded not guilty to the charges on March 5 and was sentenced to jai in lieu of a $5,000 bond. Bivins is scheduled for a preliminary hearing this morning in Portage County court on the aggravated vehicular assault charge.