A Duquesne man was jailed this week on fleeing and related charges filed by state police in connection with a 135 mph chase that started in Derry Township earlier this year.
Bail for Nicholas D. Lomax, 28, was set at $100,000.
Troopers said they were stationed on Route 22 in Derry Township just after 8 p.m. May 19 upon learning an Audi A5 had fled from police in McKeesport and was headed east on the highway. Police spotted the car and started pursuing it, according to court papers.
The driver weaved around motorists in the eastbound lanes and crossed over into oncoming traffic, traveling into Indiana County and forcing nine vehicles to avoid head-on collisions, police said. Troopers ended the pursuit when the driver turned onto Old William Penn Highway into Blairsville for safety reasons.
Authorities charged Lomax after a McKeesport officer identified him as the driver who fled initially and troopers determined he continued driving into Derry Township, according to court papers. The Audi was recently purchased by a girlfriend of Lomax, police said. He was arraigned Monday on 50 charges and traffic citations in connection with the chase, including fleeing from police, reckless endangerment and driving without a license.
He did not have an attorney listed in online court records. A Jan. 5 preliminary hearing is set.
Allegheny County Police had been looking for Lomax for months, too, on charges stemming from a July 20 assault in Wilmerding. He was arraigned Saturday on charges of possession of an incapacitation device, simple assault, harassment and disorderly conduct. Police said he used a Taser-like device on a woman and fled before investigators arrived.
His bail was set at $10,000 and a Dec. 30 preliminary hearing is scheduled in that case, according to online court records.
