Beverly man allegedly sped away from police, slammed into telephone pole

BEVERLY (FOX 25 / MyFoxBoston.com) - An 18-year-old Beverly man is facing a series of charges after allegedly speeding away from police and causing quite a bit of damage along the way.

Beverly Police Sergeant Richard Russo tells FOX 25 he arrived at the scene of a fight between a group of men and the suspect, Anthony Savio. Once the teen was in the car with his girlfriend, Officer Russo says he began exiting his car to approach them. That is when Russo says Savio took off, allegedly hitting another car, hopping the curb, and driving onto Main Street.

Officer Russo estimates that Savio was traveling at 80 mph, so the officer backed off worrying that it was too dangerous to follow at that speed.

Half a mile down the road, Officer Russo noticed that the power was out and a telephone pole was split in half. He soon found the vehicle he had been chasing was on fire up against an apartment building at 8 Dodge Street.

Savio allegedly tried to flee so one officer chased him down as Russo helped the female passenger out of the car. Once caught, Savio was charged with assault with a dangerous weapon, leaving the scene of an accident, operating to endanger, speeding, operating under the influence, minor transporting alcohol, leaving the scene of property damaged in an accident, resisting arrest, and failure to stop for an officer.

He was taken to the jail in Middleton. The building only suffered minor damage and power was restored to the area by Saturday night. The unidentified female passenger suffered only minor injuries.