Police identify Pittsburgh drug suspect arrested after five-hour search near Millvale

It took police more than five hours of searching Friday, but with help from a K-9 officer and helicopters, they tracked down a man suspected of drug possession who led authorities on a car chase on Route 28 and took off on foot near Millvale.

William Thompson, 33, was taken into custody about 1 p.m.

The incident began just before 8 a.m. when Thompson fled from narcotics detectives and rammed an unmarked police sport utility vehicle near Downtown Pittsburgh, according to Public Safety spokeswoman Sonya Toler.

Thompson took off through the North Side and up Route 28 in his SUV, sideswiping three vehicles and eventually crashing near the 40th Street Bridge ramp in Millvale. Police said he abandoned the vehicle and ran over a hillside.

None of the drivers were injured, and the three vehicles remained drivable.

Police found $376,000 worth of heroin in Thompson's SUV.

Authorities briefly closed the ramp from the bridge to northbound Route 28 and suspended train traffic in the area at the beginning of the search.

Officers from Pittsburgh, Millvale, Shaler, Ross and the state police barracks spent hours combing the woods along the Allegheny River and near Millvale Riverfront Park.

Thompson was spotted in Millvale several hours later. A police dog caught up to him just after 1 p.m. He was taken to a hospital for treatment of dog bites, Toler said.

Police will charge him with aggravated assault, fleeing and eluding police and drug possession with intent to deliver.

Megan Guza is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. She can be reached at 412-380-8519 or mguza@tribweb.com.