Crime & Safety
Shaker Heights Police Rescue Fleeing Suspect Who Fell Into Frozen Lake
The Cleveland Heights man was taken to the hospital for extreme hypothermia and then charged with obstruction of official business
Shaker Heights Police saved the life of a fleeing suspect when he fell through the ice of Green Lake Tuesday evening.
At about 9 p.m., a Shaker Heights officer pulled over Vertell Pruitt -- 22, of Cleveland Heights -- for running a red light near the intersection of Parkland and South Woodland Road, Lt. Jeffrey DeMuth said.
Pruitt stopped his car but, when the officer also stopped, he ran away.
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Police officers chased Pruitt and even lost track of him for awhile. But then they followed his footprints to Green Lake, near the eastern corner of the Parkland and Lee intersection.
Pruitt was trying to flee over the frozen lake. But the ice was not thick enough to support him so he fell through.
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Several officers came to his rescue and pulled him onto the shore.
"They immediately gave him first aid and took him to University Hospitals with extreme hypothermia," DeMuth said.
Once Pruitt recovered, he was arrested and charged with obstructing official business, ignoring a red light and driving without a license.
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