Benjamin Velazquez Vazquez was arrested after a police pursuit involving a dirt bike ended at the dead end of Whitney Avenue in Youngstown. Police said the rider struck multiple vehicles, went over a cliff and later surrendered after officers used beanbag rounds; he reported being injured and was taken to a hospital.
According to WKRC, officers first noticed Velazquez Vazquez riding without license plates. The report also discusses Ohio Revised Code Chapter 4519 and registration and equipment requirements for off-highway motorcycles, citing an explainer identified as the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles.
The rider did not stop, according to the report, and police said he struck multiple vehicles before reaching the end of Whitney Avenue. The pursuit ended after he drove the dirt bike over the embankment there.
Arrest after the crash
After the dirt bike went over the edge, Velazquez Vazquez moved toward a nearby roadway and then entered a large drainage pipe, according to the report. Officers ordered him to come out and used a beanbag round during the standoff.
What pursuit records show
Available department-level reports show that pursuit activity varies by agency. According to the Dublin Police Department's 2024 annual analysis, the department conducted one motor vehicle pursuit that year. The Toledo Police Department's 2023 analysis reported 11 pursuits involving a pursuit-policy violation that led to an internal investigation, compared with eight such instances in 2022. Those two reports, as reflected in the available findings, do not provide a statewide Ohio frequency, injury or outcome total and do not distinguish motorcycles or off-highway motorcycles from other fleeing vehicles. They therefore offer local context but do not show how often pursuits involving dirt bikes occur across Ohio.
A second 40 mm beanbag round struck Velazquez Vazquez, the report states. He then surrendered, told officers he was injured and was taken into custody before being transported to a hospital.
Charges and an outstanding warrant
Following his arrest, Velazquez Vazquez was charged with resisting arrest and obstructing official business, the article notes. Under Ohio Revised Code § 2921.31, obstructing official business is generally a second-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to 90 days in jail, but it can escalate to a fifth-degree felony if the act creates a risk of physical harm to officers or others, according to the Ohio General Assembly.
He also faces a receiving-stolen-property charge because the dirt bike had been reported stolen in Columbiana County. The article identifies the vehicle-related charge under Ohio Revised Code § 2913.51.
Portage County warrant
The case's reach extends beyond Mahoning and Columbiana counties. Velazquez Vazquez has been wanted in Portage County since 2022, per the seed reporting, and also faces a failure-to-appear charge tied to that jurisdiction. Court records cited by 21 WFMJ indicate that warrant stems from a 2021 workplace incident in which he allegedly shoved a fellow employee, causing multiple injuries and resulting in a misdemeanor assault charge; he failed to appear in court the following year, triggering the warrant.
21 WFMJ also reported that Velazquez Vazquez previously led Youngstown police on a vehicle pursuit in February 2025, after which he was charged with possession of crack cocaine, improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle, having weapons under disability, and failure to comply with a police order. Together with the fresh charges from the Whitney Avenue chase, the case now spans three Northeast Ohio counties: Mahoning, where the chase and arrest occurred; Columbiana, where the dirt bike was stolen; and Portage, where he was wanted on the outstanding warrant.
Cliffside standoffs like this one are not isolated within the region's recent policing history. Hoodline's coverage of a Marysville cliff jump documented a similar August 2026 incident in which a fleeing felony suspect leapt down a steep cliff during a police pursuit, part of a broader pattern of high-hazard pursuit endings across Northern Ohio.
