ELYRIA — Two men smoking in front of Bugsy’s early this morning helped chase down a man who attempted to leave the scene of an accident that sent three people to the hospital.

Listen to scanner audio from the accident and chase:

(You could have been listening live via the CT’s online police scanner.)

Tim Fitzpatrick, 29, of Oberlin, told police he was having a cigarette with Joseph Brown, 26, of Grafton, about 1:15 a.m. when they watched a man leave Bugsy’s, 348 Broad St., get into a tan Pontiac Bonneville and back into the path of a black P.T. Cruiser that was driving west down Broad Street.

The man in the Pontiac “got out and limped away,” Brown said in a statement to police. “My friend Tim went after him so he couldn’t get away. I stayed with kids in the Cruiser” and called 911.

Fitzpatrick followed the man, Edward Whiteman, 33, of North Ridgeville, several blocks away to the parking lot of St. Mary Church at Middle Avenue and Third Street, where police took him into custody. Whiteman was charged with DUI and improper backing.

The three occupants of the PT cruiser, Clint Jackson, 18, of Elyria, Aaron Jackson, 19, of Elyria, and Ellexus Eccleston, 16, of Elyria, were taken by LifeCare to EMH Regional Medical Center. Both Jacksons were treated and released, and the hospital had no information on Eccleston.

Both vehicles were towed from the scene by Elyria Towing.