$25K bail for Siloe Perez, man accused of hitting Springfield police officer with pickup

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) - The man accused of hitting a Springfield police officer with his pickup truck and then driving away has been ordered held on $25,000 bail.

Siloe Perez, 24, was arraigned on several charges, including drunk driving and assault with a dangerous weapon (a motor vehicle) Tuesday morning at the Hampden County Hall of Justice in Springfield.

Springfield Police Sgt. John Delaney told 22News that late Monday morning, Perez had hit another driver's car near the intersection of White and Pasadena Streets. That vehicle's driver followed Perez and saw him pull into a driveway on Orange Street.

Nearby, at Orange and Ranney Streets, Officer David Starr was working a construction detail, when the driver of the other vehicle told him that Perez had crashed into him.

Delaney says Starr approached Perez, who was still sitting in the truck, and told him to turn the vehicle off. He didn't and took off dragging Starr for a short distance before then knocking him over and driving away.

Starr, who suffered a knee injury, was able to give a description of Perez's vehicle to other officers, who spotted him a short time later on Fountain Street; finally getting him pulled over at Sumner Avenue and White Street.

Starr was taken to the hospital, but has since been released. Delaney says Starr has been relieved of duty, and is still in a lot of pain and probably won't be back to work for a while.

Delaney says that Starr is in the Army National Guard, and had just recently returned from serving in Africa.