A Tesla was involved in a dramatic police pursuit on July 12 on Interstate 40 near West Memphis, Arkansas.
Two Tesla drivers were reportedly racing each other on the highway when local law enforcement was called for help. Arkansas State Police Trooper James Collins went in pursuit of the two EVs, but after one of the Teslas took an exit ramp, he continued to chase down the other, a Model Y.
The pursuit was captured by the police car's onboard camera and the footage reveals how recklessly the Tesla driver acted and how a potentially major crash – if not more – involving innocent road users were miraculously avoided.
It didn't take too long for Trooper Collins to get close to the Tesla Model Y after the EV blasted past him. After two minutes of pursuit, the Tesla drove over a stop stick deployed by another police crew, but things didn't end there.
Since the Tesla driver showed no signs of giving up despite an obvious loss of speed, the patrol car behind him started preparing for a PIT maneuver. The first attempt wasn't successful as the fleeing driver managed to keep control of the Tesla and then accelerated away.
The second PIT attempt was more serious and the Tesla driver had to work harder to keep the car on the road, but it was the third try that finally sent the Model Y into a spin. After doing a 360-degree spin, the EV hit the patrol car, which hit the guardrail.
You'd think that after all this the suspect would give up, but he still tried to drive off. The good thing is another officer who was following close behind in an SUV rammed the side of the EV with the push bar, which was the equivalent of the suspect seeing a "Game Over" warning flashing on the windshield.
According to the Arkansas State Police Trooper's report, both suspects were placed into custody without incident. Upon searching the vehicle, a small amount of marijuana and digital scales were found in the Tesla.
As a result, the front seat passenger was charged with misdemeanor possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia. The driver was charged with misdemeanor possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia, reckless driving, no liability insurance, unauthorized use of a vehicle, fleeing, and aggravated assault.
As it turns out, the Model Y had been rented on Turo, so here's something to think about if you are planning to put your car on the peer-to-peer car sharing service.
