The responding officer called out to the driver several times to no avail
- Arkansas police pursued a stolen Corvette that fled during a traffic stop attempt.
- Despite numerous calls from the pursuing officer, the driver wouldn’t pull over.
- The chase ended with a controlled PIT that sent the Corvette sliding into a ditch.
People run from the police every day. Their reasons may be different, but it usually ends up the same. In this chase with an allegedly stolen Chevrolet Corvette, the driver also ends up going to jail. In fact, the officers use a PIT maneuver to end the chase just like we’ve seen plenty of times. This one, though, was different.
The trooper in question heard calls about the stolen Corvette and responded to the area. Upon finding the car on U.S. Highway 63, he initiated a traffic stop. At first, the driver pulled the modified sports car over, but then things changed. Despite being commanded to roll the windows down, the driver pulls away. Then, when the trooper turns on their lights and sirens, the driver speeds away on the shoulder.
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We’ve covered countless police chases here. Some of them go exactly the way one might expect. Others don’t, and still others end in almost comical ways. What we’ve never seen is an officer openly telling dispatch that he doesn’t want to damage the car he’s chasing. Nevertheless, that’s exactly what we get in this one involving trooper Zachary Paschal. The two exceed 120 mph for a time before slowing a little. Then, Paschal says, “I don’t want to tear someone’s car up.”
Rather than simply PIT the car in question mere seconds into the chase, as we’ve seen ASP do several times before, he calls out to the driver via the onboard sound system. In fact, he calls the driver by her name. “Sarah, pull the car over, Sarah,” he says over and over.
Despite his pleas, the driver continues, and moments later, trooper Paschal gently nudges the car into a spin. It slides off the road into a ditch, where he arrests the driver. She’s now facing charges of theft of the car, improper passing, driving on a suspended license, reckless driving, and more.
Would officers have even considered the potential damage to a victim’s car if it weren’t an American icon? We may never know, but their vocal concern in this instance is noteworthy. Perhaps they should have that same attitude across the board. What do you think? Should police be less prone to use destructive intervention techniques when the vehicle in question is stolen? Let us know in the comments below!