Wrong-way driver facing charges after police chase

A driver who was spotted going the wrong way on a downtown Columbus street Friday night was arrested after a police chase.

According to Columbus Police Department, officers were already working at a traffic stop on Seventh Street near Central Avenue at about 9:30 p.m. Friday evening. That’s when they saw another vehicle moving slowly in the wrong direction, headed directly towards them. Police ordered the driver to stop and he briefly did so, before racing off.

Police began chasing the vehicle, before the driver struck a median near 10th Street and Central Avenue and then another vehicle near 17th Street and Central. The driver of the second vehicle was slightly injured in the crash. That’s when the first driver ran away, police say.

The fleeing driver was taken into a short distance later and identified as 26-year-old Marcos Morales-Cortez. Police say his eyes were glassy and bloodshot and he had a strong odor of alcohol on his breath. He was taken to Columbus Regional Hospital to have his blood tested and then arrested on preliminary charges including Resisting Law Enforcement in a Vehicle, Resisting Law Enforcement, Operating a Vehicle While Intoxicated, Operating a Vehicle Without a License as well as an outstanding Bartholomew County Warrant