LANCASTER — A 30-year-old Lancaster man is facing several charges — including driving with a suspended license — after crashing his vehicle at the intersection of North Prince and West Chestnut Streets in Lancaster Thursday afternoon, according to Lancaster police.
The accident occurred at 1:48 p.m. — just yards from the Lancaster Bureau of Police Station, police say. Officers inside the station heard the crash and went to investigate.
Police say that when officers arrived on the scene, they discovered an overturned silver sedan, which was unoccupied. Witnesses directed police to the driver of the vehicle, who was standing in a crowd of onlookers that had gathered along the sidewalk nearby on the 200 block of North Prince Street. Police say driver, later identified as Christopher Youst, made no attempt to identify himself as the driver, and attempted to flee on foot once police began questioning him.
When he was detained by police, Youst allegedly became combative, requiring several officers to subdue him, police say. He was eventually taken to the nearby police station.
Police say they were able to piece together the scope of the event thanks to reports from witnesses on the scene and others who had stopped at the crash. According to police, a witness told officers they were driving south on Fruitville Pike and approaching downtown Lancaster over the Prince Street bridge when they observed the silver sedan driving in an erratic manner. The witness lost sight of the vehicle until it approached the intersection of Prince and Lemon Streets, where they saw the silver sedan strike two parked vehicles and continue to travel south on the adjacent sidewalk, knocking down a light pole and striking a brick wall in the process. The vehicle continued south on North Prince Street, the witness said.
Other witnesses told police the silver vehicle attempted to drive between two cars on North Prince Street, sideswiping a white Audi on the driver’s side and striking a gray Hyundai on the passenger side, police say. The crash with the Hyundai caused the silver vehicle to rotate upside down, police say. It eventually struck two more vehicles while upside-down before it came to rest.
The driver of the Hyundai was taken to an area hospital for treatment and observation. Four vehicles involved in the incident needed to be towed from the area, police say.
Youst was taken to an area hospital for treatment after complaining of pain, police say.
He is charged with:
- Accidents involving death or personal injury while not properly licensed
- Accidents to attended vehicles or property
- Accidents involving damage to unattended vehicles or property
- Resisting arrest
Other charges could be pending, police say. The investigation into this incident is on-going and has not been completed. A review of video provided by the Lancaster Safety Coalition showed Youst’s vehicle on N. Prince St. just prior to the crash, and there was damage to the front passenger quarter panel. Police believe it’s possible Youst was involved in a crash somewhere outside downtown Lancaster prior to the incident. Anyone with information on this crash or Youst’s driving prior to the crash is asked to contact Off. Steven Alexander alexands@lancasterpolice.com.
Once the investigation has been completed, a Criminal Summons will be sent to Youst for the offenses, police say.
