Police said the driver used the Interstate 40 shoulder to pass through heavy traffic before Arkansas troopers ended their pursuit near the bridge.
WEST MEMPHIS, Ark. — A police pursuit reportedly reached 130 mph on Interstate 40 before Arkansas State Police ended its involvement and the fleeing vehicle crashed in Memphis, critically injuring the driver.
The pursuit began shortly after 10 a.m. Aug. 19 when Memphis police reported they were pursuing a gray Kia K5 whose driver was suspected in an aggravated assault, according to an ASP incident report.
The Kia crossed the Interstate 55 bridge into Arkansas, where Trooper Dairren Evans positioned his patrol vehicle on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive to intercept it.
Police said the Kia exited I-55 at a high rate of speed and disregarded a stop sign. Evans activated his emergency lights, but the driver allegedly continued at speeds reaching approximately 80 mph on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.
The Kia then entered I-40 east and rapidly accelerated toward Memphis.
Evans reported attempting to position his patrol vehicle for a tactical vehicle intervention, commonly called a TVI. The driver allegedly braked suddenly and accelerated repeatedly to prevent the trooper from completing the maneuver.
Speeds reached approximately 130 mph as the pursuit approached heavy traffic, according to the report. Police said the Kia traveled along the interstate shoulder at that speed and narrowly missed other vehicles.
As the pursuit approached the I-40 bridge, an ASP supervisor instructed Evans to discontinue the pursuit and allow Memphis police to resume primary responsibility.
The Kia crashed shortly afterward in Memphis. The driver was identified as Michael Thacker. Police said Thacker was taken to a hospital with critical injuries.
ASP reported that it planned to submit allegations of felony fleeing involving substantial danger of death, reckless driving, failure to maintain liability insurance and failure to wear a seat belt to the Crittenden County prosecutor’s office.
The report does not indicate whether those charges have been formally filed.
All suspects are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.
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