WEST MEMPHIS, Ark. — A traffic stop on Interstate 40 turned into a high-speed pursuit late Aug. 24 after Arkansas State Police said a driver sped away from a trooper, shut off the vehicle’s lights and crossed into Tennessee at speeds well over 100 mph.
Trooper First Class Gunner Fultz reported that he was stationary near the 283-mile marker in Crittenden County when he saw a blue sedan traveling east at 81 mph in a 65 mph zone around 11:36 p.m.
Fultz activated his emergency lights and siren. The driver did not immediately stop but eventually pulled onto the shoulder near the 284-mile marker.
According to the report, the vehicle’s brake lights remained on, and Fultz instructed the driver to put the car in park. The driver leaned his head out of the window and told the trooper he could not hear him.
Fultz gave the instruction again.
Instead, police said the driver sped away.
The trooper pursued the sedan as it reached speeds “well over 100 mph,” according to the report. Fultz said the driver then turned off all of the vehicle’s lights and began weaving in and out of traffic.
Fultz was unable to catch the vehicle before it crossed the Mississippi River into Tennessee. He terminated the pursuit at the state line and watched the darkened sedan continue south on Front Street in Memphis.
But the trooper would soon encounter the vehicle again.
Fultz reported making a separate trip into Memphis shortly after the pursuit when he noticed police vehicles and a fire truck on Front Street. At the scene was the same blue Toyota Camry he had just pursued — this time crashed.
The driver had fled the crash scene, according to Memphis police.
Police reported finding a Glock pistol and approximately five grams of marijuana inside the Camry. Investigators also found a bill of sale containing a name and date of birth.
Fultz said he ran the name, Juan Vertiz, and recognized him as the driver from the pursuit. Memphis police took possession of the vehicle and the evidence found inside.
The ASP report identifies Vertiz as a Fort Smith man and lists the vehicle as a dark blue 2020 Toyota Camry.
Fultz wrote that warrants would be issued for Vertiz for fleeing, no driver’s license, reckless driving, improper lane change and no headlamps.
All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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