Victim, witnesses say crash near South End Rail Trail looked like end of police pursuit

Multiple witnesses and a victim told Channel 9 a serious crash in South End Wednesday evening looked like the end of a police pursuit.

Around 5 p.m. that day, Chopper 9 Skyzoom flew over the scene, which was at West Park Avenue and Camden Road near the Rail Trail.

Camden Road was blocked off near the light rail during the investigation. A pickup truck and tan Lexus sedan were seen with damage from the collision.

Now, one man who was hurt in that crash is asking questions. Mike Field told Channel 9′s Hunter Sáenz he was doing alright after the crash, but said he's still sore along the left side of his body.

"I feel blessed that I'm standing right here right now," he said.

Field said he was leaving work Wednesday and was driving along Camden Road when he was hit. He said the white truck was driving fast toward him, flying through at least one intersection. Before he knew it, that truck rammed right into him, he said.

"Three feet farther this way and I probably wouldn't be able to talk to you," he told Sáenz.

Field said he passed out for a few seconds and when he came to, police cars were all over the scene. He said he has video of officers arresting the man who was driving the white truck.

Several witnesses, along with Field himself, told Sáenz they saw multiple police cars with their lights flashing pursuing a white truck at a high rate of speed through South End before the crash.

Field said he's sure it was a police pursuit, and added he understands and appreciates the work police officers do in our community. He said though he used to be all for officers going after suspects, this has given him a new perspective.

"Someone could have died here," Field said. "This was more than just a high-speed pursuit. Maybe a way of approaching this that, in a populated area where there's so many pedestrians, at 5:00 in the afternoon. Somebody easily could have been hit."

He doesn't know what the solution is, but he just wants to know why police were going after the driver. He also wanted to set the record straight that this wasn't simply a crash officers were responding to.

"I'm absolutely certain it was a chase," he said.

Sáenz dug further in who the man was in the video that Field shot.

Peter Roberson was arrested and is facing several charges, including possession of a stolen motor vehicle, larceny of a motor vehicle, fleeing and eluding arrest, and resisting public officers.

We don't know exact details of what sparked it all, but Sáenz has reached out to police for more information. He has not yet heard back.

"Boy, going through that area with that many pedestrians, in that tight of streets and everyone coming out of work, that was probably not the best place to be driving that fast," Field said.

He said he's now dealing with the mess of trying to replace his car, but he's grateful he managed to walk away from this.

"Even though it hurts, it's a good thing," Field said.

Return to this story for more information.

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