Nov 14, 2020 2 min read

A North Strabane Township man was jailed Friday on accusations he rammed two police cruisers with a John Deere tractor after drinking a beer during a slow-speed chase two days earlier.

South Strabane Township police arrested the suspect, Steven Andrew Magdich, 47, following the chase along Routes 136 and 519 that reached a top speed of 7 mph., court records indicate.

The tractor was equipped with a front loader and rear blade, each of which struck a police cruiser on Route 519 about 1:45 p.m., charging documents state.

Police first approached Magdich, of 1060 Route 519, when he was driving the tractor while leaving a residence on Appaloosa Lane. He opted not to stop after police attempted to pull him over, and he then drove onto Route 136 East.

Police again pulled alongside of the tractor while Magdich appeared to be drinking from a can of beer. He also was accused of using vulgar language and hand gestures toward officers.

Magdich at one point pulled around a police cruiser into oncoming traffic, forcing several other vehicles to a stop to avoid a crash, police alleged in court documents.

Police said he rammed his tractor into a police cruiser after turning onto Route 519, at which time its blade struck the other.

Magdich has a history of run-ins with police, having been sentenced in 2010 in Washington County Court to 2 1/2 years in prison for crashing a vehicle into two cruisers involved in a chase begun by Peters Township police. He also was accused of assaulting a Washington police officer who wrote him a ticket in 1999. In addition, he was sentenced to probation stemming from a police chase in North Strabane Township in 2010, online court records show.

In Wednesday’s tractor chase, he was charged with aggravated assault, reckless endangerment, fleeing from police, driving under the influence of alcohol, public drunkenness, causing damages to attended vehicles and simple assault.

District Judge Michael Manfredi sent Magdich to Washington County jail on $75,000 bond.