GALLERY: SUV driver faces multiple charges after chase ends in crash

UPDATE: Police chased a stolen sport-utility vehicle at speeds of more than 100 mph Friday morning before it crashed at a busy southwest Cedar Rapids intersection.

Three people were hurt when the SUV ran the red light at 16th Avenue and Wiley Boulevard SW around 9:30 a.m. and hit a car, police said. A witness said the SUV rolled at least twice before landing on its wheels.

“Immediately, this guy gets out and runs,” said Mike Kriso, 41, of Cleveland, Ohio, who witnessed the crash. “This cop, I've got to hand it to him, he must have been a track star or something.”

Kriso said the officer tackled the driver and quickly had him in handcuffs. Police later identified the driver as Daniel R. Hite, 45, of Clinton.

Sgt. Cristy Hamblin said a passenger in the SUV, Sara Weaver, 35, of Cedar Rapids, also ran from the wrecked vehicle and was soon captured. Hite, Weaver and the driver of the car, Douglas Nassif, 65, were all taken by ambulance to area hospitals, where they were treated and released later on Friday, police said.

The chase began when an officer tried to stop the SUV around 9:25 a.m. near the intersection of Sixth Street and 11th Avenue SE. Police said it had been reported stolen Dec. 1 in Oelwein. The driver sped away, and took the 12th Avenue bridge across the Cedar River.

Police said Hite was traveling 110 mph in a 30 mph zone, at one point, and ran at least seven red lights or stop signs before the crash.

Paul Scheetz, 76, of Cedar Rapids, said he and his passenger saw the SUV run a red light at Sixth Street and 15th Avenue SW.

“He was really moving,” Scheetz said. “There were two cop cars right behind him, coming really hard, all with their lights and sirens going.”

Police deployed stop sticks near the intersection of 16th Avenue and Edgewood Road SW, but they were not successful. Kriso said the driver slowed a bit as he got close to Wiley Boulevard SW and maneuvered around a car before the northbound car collided with the SUV.

Kriso was walking along the sidewalk nearby, on his way for some breakfast.

“It was fast and furious, and then all of the sudden it was slow motion (as the SUV flipped),” Kriso said.

Police said Hite faces numerous charges, including possession of a stolen vehicle, driving while barred, attempting to elude, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Online court records indicate Hite has been convicted at least eight times for drug possession since 2002. In November 2010 he pleaded guilty to possession of marijuana. Sentencing in that case was initially scheduled for Jan. 24, but was pushed back to March 16.