Man with parole violation for homicide charge gets away after foot chase in Millvale

MILLVALE, Pa. — Police are looking for a man with a parole violation for a homicide who led an officer on a foot chase after he was pulled over in Millvale Tuesday night.

According to the criminal complaint, police in the area of the East Ohio Street/Grant Avenue on-ramp to Route 28 saw a white Ford Escape facing the wrong way at the intersection at around 10:30 p.m. It went through the intersection and went toward the 40th Street Bridge.

The police officer at the scene got behind the Escape and activated the patrol car’s emergency lights. It stopped at a traffic light without actually pulling over.

The driver, later identified as Christopher McCormick, told the officer he didn’t have a license and that the car wasn’t his. The officer also smelled malt or an alcoholic beverage coming from him, as well as saw an unopened beer can in the center console. There was also a little girl, around 5 years old, in the back seat who was not restrained properly in a car seat or booster, the complaint said.

The officer went back to the patrol car to run McCormick’s information. The complaint said when the officer got back to his car, McCormick jumped out of the driver’s seat and ran toward the patrol vehicle before hooking a right into the woods separating the north and south lanes of Route 28.

The officer chased McCormick, yelling at him to stop. McCormick jumped down a hillside and crossed over Route 38 North into another wooded area.

Despite officers from the City of Pittsburgh, River Rescue and numerous other municipalities, as well as drones and K-9 units searching the woods, the train tracks and the Riverfront, McCormick got away, the complaint said.

McCormick has an active parole violation warrant on an original charge of homicide, the complaint said. The address listed on the warrant was not his actual address, and a ping of his cell phone was attempted with negative results.

McCormick now facing additional charges of evading arrest of detention on foot, driving under the influence of alcohol or controlled substance, carrying and exhibiting driver’s license on command, restraint systems and a traffic violation.

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