A Salisbury man was charged this weekend after his vehicle struck a Duke Energy utility pole, he led police of a short foot chase and he assaulted a hospital nurse.
The Salisbury Police charged Paul Jones III, 21, of the 800 block of Green Street, with driving while impaired, reckless driving, two counts resist, obstruct, delay an officer; three counts communicating threats, two counts injury to personal property, assault on a female and a citation for expired registration.
Officers went to 725 S. Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. on Friday at 6:18 p.m. to a single-vehicle crash. The driver of the vehicle was seen walking away from the crash, but officers soon caught up to him, a report said.
Officers noted in their report that the driver, who was later identified as Paul Jones III, was frantically talking and smelled of alcohol. The driver had hit a Duke Energy utility pole and received minor injuries in the accident.
While emergency personnel were tending to Jones’ injuries, he took off running down the middle of the road, losing a boot as he continued to run.
Jones began sweating profusely and became paranoid, the report said.
He fell asleep and awoke at Novant Health Rowan Medical Center. When the hospital staff tried to draw blood samples from Jones, he became aggressive. Officers tried to restrain Jones, but he leaned back and kicked the hospital security guard. The officers had to hold Jones down on the ground. Jones has since been released from the county jail under a $5,000 secured bond.
Contact reporter Shavonne Potts at 704-797-4253. Twitter: www.twitter.com/salpostpotts Facebook: www.facebook.com/Shavonne.SalisburyPost.