ASHTABULA - - A one-vehicle crash early Friday landed two people in trouble when chemicals and items to make methamphetamine spilled out of the car upon impact, according to an Ashtabula Police Department report.
A Jefferson resident and a friend from Indiana crashed into a tree at 12:53 a.m. in the 1400 block of Bunker Hill Road, police said. One of the occupants of the vehicle attempted to flee the scene on foot, to no avail, law enforcement officers said.
"Chemicals to manufacture methamphetamine flew out of the window of the vehicle (upon impact)," detective Sgt. Joseph Cellitti said. "The trunk popped open and pills and instruments to manufacture meth were found in there."
A search of the vehicle resulted in the discovery of a loaded gun, Cellitti said.
The Ohio Highway Patrol and Ashtabula County Sheriff's deputies assisted city police at the scene.
The driver of the vehicle was transported to Ashtabula County Medical Center for treatment to injuries incurred in the crash, Ashtabula County Sheriff's Department Chief Deputy Ron Fenton said.
The passenger was taken to the county jail in Jefferson, he said.
As of Friday afternoon, neither suspect had been arraigned because of their intoxicated state, so law enforcement officers are withholding their names.
Cellitti said police plan to charge the pair with illegal possession of chemicals to manufacture drugs, drug abuse and improper handling of a handgun in a motor vehicle.
Sheriff William Johnson has said meth is the drug of trade now because it's easy to make, especially in rural areas, like Ashtabula County. Methamphetamine has surpassed marijuana, cocaine and even alcohol in drug-related crime cases, he said.
Johnson has applied to the U.S. Department of Justice for a grant to set up an Ohio Methamphetamine Pilot Initiative training and assistance program in the county.
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