Man was in jail less than two hours before police chase

CEDAR RAPIDS - Less than an hour after his release from jail, police suspect Romaine A. Williams stole a van that he would later use in an attempt to elude authorities.

Williams, 27, of Cedar Rapids, remained hospitalized Tuesday after crashing the stolen van into a pickup and a semi-trailer truck around 12:15 p.m. Monday at the intersection of Sixth Street and Wilson Avenue SW in Cedar Rapids. Williams was seriously injured in the crash, but will survive, according to police.

It was the second crash of the day for Williams, authorities said. Around 2:30 a.m. Monday, he was arrested on suspicion of operating while intoxicated after a single-vehicle accident at County Home Road and Quass Road near Robins. Formal charges were not immediately filed, as investigators await drug test results, and Williams was released from the Linn County Jail at 10:46 a.m.

About 90 minutes later, he was unconscious and slumped over the wheel of the stolen van after the second crash.

Cedar Rapids police Sgt. Cristy Hamblin said officers got involved when the white construction van was reported stolen from the Second Avenue bridge shortly before 11:30 a.m. Monday. About 40 minutes later, a woman reported a possible drunk driver in the same van, near the area of Edgewood Road and 33rd Avenue SW.

Police located the van headed east in the 1200 block of Wilson Avenue SW, and were notified about the stolen vehicle report. The officer activated his emergency lights in the 800 block, but the driver would not pull over. Two blocks later, the van went through the red light, broadsided a southbound pickup and spun into a northbound semi, police said.

Hamblin said Williams was not wearing a seat belt and struck the windshield with his head.

The police officer approached the van with his gun drawn and, upon seeing the driver unconscious, smashed out the side window in an attempt to get the door open, according to two women who witnessed the crash. Firefighters eventually were able to pry the door open and get Williams out.

Neither the driver of the pickup, Zachary Walker, 20, of Viola, nor the driver of the semi, Craig Bixler, 35, of Cedar Rapids, were injured. Bixler also is an Iowa State Patrol Trooper.

Police did not immediately find evidence of drinking in the van, Hamblin said, but noted that the van was full of tools which were in disarray after the crash. Charges were pending, once the results of blood tests were known, police said.