The pursuit began Thursday evening after a traffic stop at Lafayette and Kenton Streets when the SUV Cragg was driving sped off. About eight blocks later, Cragg tried to turn right at Kenton and York streets and crashed into the house, Springfield police said. Police said Cragg hit speeds as high as 85 mph during the chase.
His passenger was identified as Sabrina Chafin.
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Both Cragg and Chafin were sought on warrants — Chafin’s out of Greene County. They were trapped when the vehicle came to rest on its top after causing heavy damage to the house. A Columbia Gas crew worked to repair a gas line the SUV hit and ruptured in the crash.
They were transported to Springfield Regional Medical Center and later taken into custody. Police said they recovered cash, 148 doses of heroin, 19 grams of cocaine, eight grams of marijuana and 46 pills from the vehicle.
Shalene Radford and her mom, Arizona Radford, live in the home that was damaged. The Red Cross put Arizona up in a motel room with her dogs, but Shalene said there isn’t enough room for her. She said she spent Thursday night on the streets.
“(I) gotta find somewhere to charge my phone and take a shower. I don’t know what to do yet,” Radford said.
Radford said her mother was in the living room at the same time the car came crashing through the front porch. She wasn’t injured — but it isn’t the first time a car has hit their home.
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“It happened last year. They ran through the front — right here at the front of her bedroom. They had to fix everything and replace it. She woke up underneath the car that time,” she said.
Radford thinks the only reason her mother is still alive is because after the first accident they installed short poles around the front yard.
Radford said she and her mother both have extensive health issues, and they have to make arrangements for getting to appointments and running errands.
“(Cragg) destroyed our lives. We’re going through a lot now — we don’t have nowhere to go. We don’t have income to go get another place,” she said.
Radford said her mother has been renting the Kenton Street home for about six years. On Friday, a crew boarded up the house to keep it secure until a permanent fix can be made.
Cragg’s arraignment was continued until July 3. His bond was set at $33,000.
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