Police chase through downtown Greensburg ends in crash, arrest

A Hempfield man nearly collided with several vehicles Friday afternoon in Greensburg while fleeing from an officer attempting to arrest him for an inspection violation, according to court papers.

Mitchell E. Crosetti-Auer, 30, is accused of leading police on a chase at 2 p.m. on busy streets in the downtown area.

Police on an aggressive driving enforcement operation spotted a Nissan Rogue with an inspection tag that expired in 2021 and attempted a traffic stop at North Maple Avenue and East Otterman Street, according to court papers. The driver fled on South Maple Avenue, passing the vehicle in front of it and turning onto East Second Street, police said.

The SUV nearly collided with traffic on South Main Street, South Pennsylvania Avenue and Vannear Avenue while driving through red lights and hitting a parked vehicle on Westminster Avenue. Crosetti-Auer fled the SUV on foot but was apprehended by an officer.

Detective Justin Scalzo said police cars from Greensburg and Southwest Greensburg collided during the pursuit. Neither officer was injured.

The suspect is charged with fleeing from police, reckless endangerment, resisting arrest and numerous summary vehicle code violations. Crosetti-Auer was being held in the Westmoreland County jail on $25,000 bail.

He did not have an attorney listed in online court papers. A May 4 preliminary hearing is set.

Aggressive and distracted drivers were being targeted by state and municipal police as part of an enforcement effort with PennDOT that ended Sunday.