PITTSFIELD - A man was arrested Friday afternoon after he crashed his vehicle into the front porch of a house while fleeing police, authorites said.

Omar Johnson, 33, faces charges of failure to yield to a police vehicle, driving on a suspended license and resisting arrest, Lt. Jeff Bradford said.

At about 3:35 p.m., Johnson failed to yield to a police car, Bradford said. During a subsequent chase, he failed to make the turn from Madison Avenue onto Dewey Avenue, crashing the dark-green Honda CR-V into the front porch of 257 Dewey Ave.

Johnson then fled on foot, Bradford said, and a chase ensued through the subdivision's backyards and eventually across the Housatonic River before being arrested.

The homeowner, Gary Brazee, was

Kim and Diane Brazee survey the scene around their house at 257 Dewey Ave. after a Honda CRV hit it friday afternoon. (Ben Garver, Berkshire Eagle Staff)
at a neighbor's house and heard the incident over a police scanner. His wife was home at the time, and she was OK. No injuries were reported.

A damage estimate was unavailable at the scene. Beams on the front porch looked as if they had been slanted by the impact of the vehicle. Part of the wrought-iron gate had been knocked clean off.

"That's a lot of damage," Brazee said, surveying the scene. "It almost makes me want to cry."

The vehicle was removed from the scene at around 4:15 p.m. A building inspector deemed the structure would be OK.