TRUMANN, Ark. — Newly released Arkansas State Police dashcam video shows a 130 mph pursuit on Interstate 555 ending in a tactical vehicle intervention and a crash that sent an uninvolved SUV rolling off the highway, seriously injuring two people.
Police identified the driver as Laloyd L. Hamilton III, 32, of Forrest City.
Watch the full pursuit video below.
The pursuit began at about 6:56 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 5, after Cpl. Logan Hall clocked a black Hyundai Sonata traveling 90 mph in a 75 mph zone near the 23-mile marker, according to an ASP incident report.
Hall made a U-turn and began following the Hyundai. The report says Hamilton activated the vehicle’s hazard lights and moved into the outside lane, leading Hall to believe he was preparing to take Exit 24.
Hamilton allegedly passed the exit, continued traveling about 90 mph and then accelerated to 122 mph as Hall closed the distance. Hall notified dispatch that he was in pursuit after the Hyundai reached 130 mph and began passing other motorists on the right.
As the pursuit approached the Trumann city limits, Hall wrote that Hamilton was driving recklessly and without regard for other motorists. Hall said he decided to end the pursuit before it entered a more populated area and performed a TVI near the 28-mile marker.
The Hyundai began to turn sideways during the maneuver. Hall reported that Hamilton appeared to overcorrect, causing the car to enter the outside lane and strike a black Toyota SUV traveling northbound.
The impact sent the SUV off the roadway, where it overturned several times before coming to rest on its passenger side.
A 68-year-old woman and a 73-year-old man were trapped inside the SUV and suffered serious injuries. The report says the woman had an apparent broken arm and head trauma. Emergency crews removed both occupants, and they were transported to Regional One Medical Center in Memphis.
Hall reported that Hamilton exited the Hyundai and stumbled around the crash scene while appearing to reach for something. Hall and off-duty Poinsett County Deputy Jay Paul Woods repeatedly ordered Hamilton to the ground before he lay facedown and was arrested without further incident.
Hamilton later questioned why Hall performed the TVI while his hazard lights were activated and claimed he was traveling to his daughter because of a medical emergency, according to the report. A family member reportedly told Hall that none of their children needed medical attention, although she said she had experienced chest pains earlier that day.
During a search of the Hyundai, troopers reported finding 44 grams of suspected marijuana, four 30-milligram oxycodone pills, 18 60-milligram OxyContin pills and a bottle labeled promethazine. The report says names and addresses had been scratched from the prescription bottles.
Hall obtained a search warrant for a blood sample. The report says staff at NEA Baptist Memorial Hospital declined to perform the blood draw because of company policy. Hamilton was medically cleared and taken to St. Bernards Medical Center, where a nurse collected the sample. The report did not include the results of the blood analysis.
The ASP report lists charges including felony fleeing by vehicle involving serious physical injury, second-degree battery, second-degree criminal mischief, possession with purpose to deliver a controlled substance, other controlled substance offenses, driving while intoxicated by drugs, reckless driving involving physical injury and speeding more than 15 mph over the limit.
All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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Well, OK. Ribbon-cuttings and police chases with the usual domestic violence thrown in. No one in the “news” media cares about the ugly underbelly. https://www.neatimes.com/myndcryme/