Arkansas State Police have released footage of a high-speed pursuit that ended in a crash with four young children inside the vehicle. According to police, the driver of an SUV took off after failing to stop for a traffic violation, leading troopers on a chase before the vehicle came to a sudden and violent halt. The footage was made public as authorities detailed what happened.
Police say the SUV reached speeds of more than 100 miles per hour during the pursuit. The chase ended when the vehicle crashed and came to rest near a set of electrical wires. The video captures the moments immediately afterwards, as troopers moved quickly toward the wreck to reach the people who were inside it.
The most striking part of the footage shows a trooper picking up a four-month-old infant, who police say had been thrown from the vehicle in the crash. Officers then worked to reach the other children who had been travelling in the SUV at the time, checking on each of them in turn as the scene was secured.
In total, police say four children were in the vehicle, all of them under the age of six. Troopers rescued all four from the scene. Despite the speed involved in the crash, authorities say the children were treated for only minor injuries, an outcome officers described as fortunate given the circumstances.
Police say the children's mother was contacted in the aftermath of the incident. The early response focused on getting the young children to safety and making sure they received medical attention, before attention turned to the driver and the wider circumstances of the pursuit.
Investigators say they also recovered a gun from inside the vehicle. That discovery has become part of the case being built around the incident, alongside the dangerous speed of the pursuit and the presence of four very young children in the car as it fled.
The suspect, named by police as Tyrese Fletcher, now faces multiple charges in connection with the incident. It was not immediately clear whether he had entered a plea. Authorities released the footage as the case moves forward, pointing to the serious risks created when a driver flees from a routine traffic stop.