A Lebanon County man ran from the crash scene, police in western Berks County said, after a relative’s car ended up against a tree in the woods near Wernersville over the weekend.
Unfortunately for him, a witness was perched in a tree stand, police said.
South Heidelberg Township police said the witness told them that the man driving the Cadillac sedan that crashed into a tree was headed on foot toward Conrad Weiser School District’s East Elementary School in the 200 block of Lincoln Drive after the crash in the 600 block about 4:15 p.m. Saturday.
According to arrest papers:
The driver, later identified as David Ortega Jr., 34, of Newmanstown, was tracked by South Heidelberg police to residential properties in the 400 block of Lincoln.
Police yelled to Ortega to stop as he was cutting across front lawns, but he ignored them and they lost sight of him as he crested the hill. However, another witness provided useful information.
The witness saw the fleeing man get into a black Mercedes Benz.
South Heidelberg police Cpl. Alex Doelp was nearby and spotted a black Mercedes. He followed the car north on Werner Street in Wernersville and eventually stopped the car at Penn Avenue and Point Road.
Police detained that driver and two passengers, one of whom was Ortega, who police recognized as the suspected driver of the Cadillac that crashed.
Police contacted the owner of the Cadillac, who is related to Ortega. She said no one but her had permission to drive the vehicle, which needed to be towed from about 75 feet of woods along Lincoln.
Ortega couldn’t legally drive any car because his license was suspended following a DUI conviction in January. According to online court records, he was arrested by state police from the Reading station in August 2023 for an incident in Heidelberg Township.
After pleading guilty Jan. 30 to DUI and driving under a suspended license, Ortega was sentenced by Berks County Judge James M. Lillis to 72 hours to six months in Berks County Prison but credited for 120 days served.
Ortega drew a fresh set of charges as a result of Saturday’s events.
They include receiving stolen property, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, evading arrest or detention on foot, hit-and-run and driving under a suspended license.
Following arraignment Saturday night before District Judge Dean R. Patton in Reading Central Court, Ortega was committed to the county jail in lieu of $10,000 bail to await a hearing.
