The 18-year-old driver, Ricky L. Brown of Crossville, Tenn., is currently being held in the Crawford County Detention Center in Van Buren, Ark., on charges of felony fleeing, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, endangering the welfare of a minor, and no driver's license, detention center officials said.
The pursuit began at about 11:20 a.m. in Roland Wednesday when Roland Police Chief Tommy Sessums observed a red 1991 Honda fail to stop for a red traffic light at the intersection of U.S. Highway 64 and the Pilot Travel Center in Roland, according to a department press release.
Sessums attempted to make contact with the vehicle, which failed to stop when Sessums activated his emergency lights. The vehicle then traveled onto eastbound Interstate 40 in Roland, and Sessums then requested the assistance of the Arkansas State Police.
The suspect vehicle reached speeds of about 100 miles per hour during the pursuit.
The vehicle was occupied by male driver, later identified as Brown, and a female passenger. The suspect vehicle avoided several roadblocks set up by the Arkansas State Police, and eventually wrecked near the 14-mile marker of Interstate 40 in Arkansas.
Both Brown and the passenger fled into the woods.
Arkansas State Police searched the area where the suspects fled and both were eventually apprehended by Arkansas law enforcement, police said.
Brown was transported to the Crawford County Detention and faces charges in Arkansas and in Oklahoma.
The Times Record reported Thursday that Brown had traveled to New Mexico to pick up his 17-year-old female passenger, who allegedly ran away from home. The teens had reportedly met on the Internet.
