Car crashes in Redmond Park; driver in custody

UPDATE: Police arrested the driver of a car that spun out of control into a park and struck a tree late Monday.

Christopher H. Ganntt, 25, of Cedar Rapids, faces a host of traffic charges after he sped away when an officer tried to pull him over in southeast Cedar Rapids.

It started around 11:30 p.m. when an officer saw Ganntt get into a car and knew there was a warrant for his arrest out of Johnson County, police said.

The officer tried to pull over the vehicle in the 1200 block of Third Avenue SE, but it took off, turned left on 16th Street SE and left again down an alley. The vehicle ran stop signs on Park Court SE, at Second and Third avenues, according to the police report.

As the vehicle got back to Third Avenue SE, it skidded into Redmond Park and hit a tree, police said.

Sgt. Cristy Hamblin said Ganntt had minor injuries from the crash. He was treated and released from St. Luke's Hospital before being taken to the Linn County Jail.

Ganntt is charged for not wearing a seat belt, driving with a suspended license, no insurance, failing to yield to an emergency vehicle, failure to maintain control and failure to obey a traffic control device.

Hamblin said the warrant was issued when Ganntt failed to appear in court on a drug charge.