An auto wrecker removes a tan 2019 Toyota Tacoma from the Exit 45 northbound toll ramp in South Portland on Wednesday. Maine State Police say the driver, Ryan Simpson, 41, of Portland, took off on foot with a dog after crashing. A state trooper used a Taser on Simpson after he allegedly tried to enter a car that was stopped at a red light near the Maine Mall. Photo courtesy of Maine State Police

A Portland man was arrested Wednesday after police say he crashed his car on the Maine Turnpike, ran from a trooper and tried to get into a car stopped at a red light before he was immobilized by a Taser.

The incident began around noon when 41-year-old Ryan Simpson apparently crashed at the curve of the Exit 45 northbound toll in South Portland. Simpson got out of his car with his dog and ran off, according to Maine State Police.

Simpson ran through the woods to a restaurant parking lot on Maine Mall Road, where a trooper tried to stop him. But Simpson’s dog got between him and the trooper, allowing Simpson to run across the road toward the Maine Mall, police said.

While he was in the intersection of Maine Mall Road and the Turnpike spur, police said Simpson attempted to get into a car that was stopped at the red light, but the door was locked. The trooper then deployed his Taser and took Simpson into custody, police said.

Simpson, who had two outstanding warrants, was taken to Maine Medical Center for an evaluation, then to the Cumberland County Jail. He was charged with operating after suspension, failure to submit to arrest, attempted burglary of a motor vehicle and leaving the scene of a property damage accident. State police did not say what the outstanding warrants were for.

The dog was not injured during the incident and is in the custody of South Portland’s animal control officer, state police said.

Troopers are looking for the woman who was driving the car Simpson tried to get into. The vehicle was a white station wagon, possibly a Toyota. Anyone with information is asked to call police Cpl. Doug Cropper at 207-624-7076.