Man Who Tried To Stop Cars On I-295 With A Knife Arrested

A man who ran from police, brandished a knife to try and get drivers on I-295 to stop, and spat out bags of cocaine is facing multiple charges.

Saturday afternoon, 43-year-old Joshua Nelson of Windham was pulled over by Portland Police at the corner of Chesnut and Oxford Streets. The Portland Press Herald reports that when Nelson pulled over, two people jumped out of his vehicle and ran off. Nelson then took off in the vehicle, leading police on a chase through the city, before crashing his vehicle into another car on Forest Avenue, near I-295.

He then ran through the University of Southern Maine campus, onto the highway, waving a knife, and trying to get cars to stop. Not only did no one stop, but Nelson was dragged a couple of times as he clung to the door handles of cars that refused to pull over. No one was hurt but the woman whose car he hit with his own vehicle was checked out at a hospital as a precaution because she's pregnant.

Police caught up to him on the interstate and arrested him. While he was being taken into custody, Nelson was allegedly spitting out bags of cocaine that he had held in his mouth. He's charged with reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon, leaving the scene of an accident, driving to endanger, unlawful possession of scheduled drugs, and criminal mischief.

His bail was set at $25,000 Monday afternoon, but his probation officer asked that he be held for suspected violations of conditions of his release from an earlier prison sentence for robbery.