Report: Man flees traffic stop at over 100 mph

HURON TWP. — Erie County deputies are searching for a man who allegedly fled from a recent traffic stop. Derek W. Worsham, 34, from Jay, Oklahoma, is facing a felony count of failure to comply with the order or signal of a police officer and two misdemeanors: obstructing and reckless operation. Just before 10:30 p.m. on July 30, deputies were called to a motel in the 4400 block of Cleveland Road (U.S. 6), for the report of a physical altercation between a man and woman. Dispatchers told the deputies the male half of the incident departed the motel in a dark-colored Kia. The woman told deputies she and her boyfriend, Worsham, were at a Margaretta Township home where Worsham reportedly drank an entire bottle of whiskey, according to an Erie County Sheriff's Office report. Worsham allegedly became physical with the woman and was "overwhelmingly intoxicated," the report states. While traveling back to the motel from the Margaretta Township address, Worsham purportedly began yelling at the woman, who then pulled over in a Sandusky restaurant's parking lot. She told deputies Worsham dragged her from the vehicle. She then walked into a wooded area and then, on foot, traveled back to the Margaretta Township home. The resident there agreed to drive the woman back to her motel. When she arrived back at the motel, Worsham reportedly began screaming at her and throwing her around. The motel's owner witnessed this and alerted authorities. The woman refused to fill out a witness statement and declined to press charges multiple times, the report states. A short time after deputies left, the motel owner called 911, to say Worsham had returned. By the time deputies got back to the motel, he was gone again. While speaking with the woman, deputies noticed a dark-colored Kia Sportage enter the parking lot then quickly reverse back onto Cleveland Road and begin traveling west, the report states. Once the deputy was able to pull out behind the Kia, his radar pegged its speed at 98 mph. That section of Cleveland Road has a 55 mph speed limit. Worsham's vehicle stopped in a business parking lot just outside of the Sandusky city limits. When the deputy entered the lot and activated his emergency lights, Worsham reportedly turned the car's headlights on, drove over a grassy area and began driving eastbound on Cleveland Road. The Kia's speed was measured in excess of 100 mph, the report states. Worsham turned right onto East Perkins Avenue and then left onto Galloway Road. The deputy lost sight of the Kia after Worsham blew the stop sign at Hull Road. Another deputy was positioned in a church parking lot on Galloway Road south of Ohio 2 and was ready to deploy stop sticks, the report states. The second deputy never saw the Kia. Deputies were unable to determine where the vehicle turned. They returned to the Cleveland Road motel to see if Worsham would return. A deputy was able to speak with Worsham on a phone call. Worsham reportedly denied fleeing from a traffic stop and claimed he was already back in Oklahoma, according to the report. The charges were filed in Huron Municipal Court on July 31 and turned into warrants for Worsham's arrest. Anyone with information on Worsham's whereabouts is encouraged to contact Erie County Sheriff's Office at 419-625-7951.