Inmate who escaped from deputy at Akron hospital captured a day later after foot chase

AKRON — A county jail inmate who ran away from an officer who had driven him to a hospital for a doctor’s appointment was captured Wednesday, authorities said.

Jason Lyle Conrad, 39, of Akron, was spotted on an Akron street around 9:40 a.m. by law enforcement officers on the ground and in an Ohio State Highway Patrol helicopter. A brief foot chase took place before he was taken into custody, according to the Summit County Sheriff’s Office.

Conrad was handcuffed and wearing a medical boot when he arrived at Summa Health White Pond Medical Center in Akron Tuesday morning. Authorities said he somehow removed the boot, which he was wearing for an undisclosed previous injury, and then ran away from the officer who had driven him to the facility.

A sheriff’s office spokesman said the deputy was not injured in the incident and the escape remains under investigation. He declined further comment.

Conrad was being held in the county jail on several charges, including felony drug possession and trafficking and weapons counts. He will now also face an escape charge, authorities said Wednesday.