'Several' officers were reportedly hit by a silver Toyota Camry near the intersection of Dwight and Worthington streets shortly before 2:30 a.m. Sunday.
Update at 6 a.m. Sunday: City police have charged Leonard C. Wheatley, 34, of Colchester St., Springfield, with OUI and several counts of assault with a dangerous weapon (a car) for allegedly trying to run down officers in Springfield's Entertainment District early Sunday morning.
SPRINGFIELD -- The police officer's voice sounded panicked as he issued an SOS to fellow officers: "Guy's running over cops -- several!"
That was the message relayed by a Springfield police officer to his colleagues around 2:24 a.m. Sunday, when the driver of a silver Toyota Camry allegedly attempted to run down multiple police officers near the intersection of Dwight and Worthington streets in the city's Entertainment District.
The officers were on foot at the time of the incident, according to reports.
After a brief chase, the driver -- later identified as 34-year-old Leonard C. Wheatley of Springfield -- was pulled over at Hillman Street, about two blocks south of where the hit-and-run incident took place, police said.
Preliminary reports indicated that some of the officers received abrasions and other injuries after being struck by the car. But Springfield Police Capt. Cheryl Clapprood, reached by The Republican a couple of hours after the incident, said she had yet to receive any injury reports from the officers.
Clapprood said the officers were nearly run over by Wheatley, who was charged with operating under the influence of alcohol and several counts of assault with a dangerous weapon (a car).
Wheatley, who lives on Colchester Street in the city's Old Hill neighborhood, is expected to be arraigned on the charges on Monday in Springfield District Court.
THE MAP BELOW shows the approximate location of where a motorist is accused of trying to run down police officers on foot patrol in the city's Entertainment District early Sunday: