Suspect escapes across bridge after police chase

Despite best efforts, suspect evades local law enforcement, state troopers

By DON WILBURN

donaldfwilburn@gmail.com

“You win some, you lose some” goes the saying and unfortunately this one must be chalked up as a loss for local law enforcement. In a reckless display of evasion, an as of yet unidentified criminal managed to evade law enforcement across state lines on Wednesday, Feb. 21. The incident began at approximately 9:17 p.m. when Detective N. McPherson of the West Memphis Police Department initiated a pursuit of a silver Chevrolet Camaro near Ingram Boulevard and the East Service Road.

As Detective McPherson closed in on the Camaro, the driver turned off all its lights and sped onto I-40 eastbound towards Memphis, TN. State Trooper Dylan Evans joined the pursuit, positioning himself at the Interstate 40 entrance ramp from Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in an attempt to assist.

See CHASE, page A3 CHASE

From page A1

Trooper Evans spotted the elusive silver bullet hurtling down Interstate 40 in the fast lane, without tags. Despite his efforts to pull the vehicle over near the 281-mile marker, the driver ignored his emergency lights and siren, continuing to accelerate at a dangerous pace.

Corporal B. Martin, who was conducting a separate traf_c stop near the 282mile marker, also attempted to intervene as the Camaro raced past him. However, the driver evaded both of-_cers, weaving in and out of traf_c lanes at speeds exceeding speeds of 130mph. or more, narrowly avoiding collisions with other vehicles by “mere inches” according to the police report.

Despite the of_cers’ best efforts, the Camaro managed to outmaneuver them, even resorting to brake-checking Trooper Evans’ unit to prevent a successful Traf_c Violation Intervention (TVI). Ultimately, at approximately 9:20 PM, Corporal B. Martin and Trooper Evans were forced to abandon the pursuit as the Camaro crossed the state line into Memphis, TN.