Little Rock, Arkansas – A police pursuit that began in Arkansas reached its tragic end in Mississippi on Wednesday, leaving one dead and another individual detained, as reported by the Crittenden County Sheriff’s Department.
The chase was initiated on I-55 just north of Marion, Arkansas. Law enforcement agencies pursued the suspect until Hernando, Mississippi. The climax of the pursuit was a blazing crash, resulting from the suspect’s vehicle driving into oncoming traffic. This misguided maneuver led to a direct head-on collision with a semi-truck on the same interstate.
Milynda Richardson, a witness to the event, was on the interstate at the time. She recalled the startling sight of police vehicles rushing past her, deploying stop sticks in their attempt to halt the suspect’s vehicle. She recounted the harrowing moments leading up to the crash, “I saw a white truck in my rearview mirror, closely tailed by several police officers. Shortly after hitting the stop sticks, the truck flipped just as a semi was approaching. The ensuing collision resulted in a massive explosion and a cloud of black smoke.”
The immediate aftermath of the incident saw the suspect being apprehended on charges pertaining to offenses committed in DeSoto County. He was subsequently transported to a nearby hospital for medical attention. However, the semi-truck’s driver tragically did not survive the crash.
Diving deeper into the background of the chase, law enforcement officers disclosed that the suspect was pursued initially due to a domestic violence altercation involving a man and a woman, both hailing from Wisconsin. Further details from the Marion Police Department revealed that the woman had an active no-contact order against the male suspect. The alarming chain of events was set in motion when the male suspect reportedly began ramming the woman’s vehicle as she was traveling on I-55, causing her to crash into a concrete barrier.
Following the devastating incident, both I-55 and I-69’s northbound lanes, south of exit 283B, were temporarily blocked as the investigative teams worked to clear the site and piece together the events that led to the unfortunate tragedy.
The joint investigation, carried out by both the Marion Police Department and the Hernando Police Department, remains ongoing as they seek to unravel the complete details of the incident.
