WEST MEMPHIS, Ark. — A crash following a car chase on the I-40 bridge leading into Memphis left traffic backed up into Arkansas for nearly an hour, and new video shows the crash was caused by a police "PIT" maneuver.
The video shows a car being chased into Memphis over the I-40 bridge, when law enforcement executes a "PIT" maneuver, causing the car to lose control, crashing into the side wall with an object shown flying from the car and over the side of the bridge.
Arkansas State Police (ASP) confirmed Friday that the incident took place around 4:30 p.m. Wednesday. An ASP trooper assisted the West Memphis Police Department in a pursuit of a suspect in a Black Ford Mustang who was reportedly shooting at homes in the area.
West Memphis investigators later located an AR-style rife around the area of the shooting and several empty shell casings, ASP said.
The trooper followed the pursuit onto Interstate 40, traveling east from the 280-mile marker. West Memphis Police got in front of the suspect vehicle on the Hernando de Soto bridge, slowing it down. The ASP trooper conducted a PIT maneuver, which caused the driver to lose control and collide with the concrete wall. Then, the driver ran out and jumped over the bridge wall, according to ASP.
West Memphis officers took the people in the car into custody while the trooper called an ambulance for the driver, Michael Lewis, 33, of West Memphis. Lewis was taken to Regional One in Memphis, according to ASP.
Pit Maneuvers in Arkansas
Arkansas State Police Director Col. Mike Hagar told our sister station KTHV in early October that Arkansas is on pace to break an all-time record of the number of pursuits they've engaged in this year alone, which is already approximately 651.
Hagar said they never want the controversial "PIT" maneuver to be fatal. However, they wish people would obey the law and stop when law enforcement approaches.
"We do not want anyone to get hurt," Hagar said. "We don't want anyone to be killed, but at the end of the day, we are always going to maintain that clear priority of life, which is the innocent public, then the law enforcement, then the suspects."
The high number of PIT maneuvers has left many Arkansans wondering if the tactic is truly the best way to get a person to comply.
"The use of spike strips is where you can deflate the tires on a vehicle," Hagar said. "In order to do that, you have to know where that vehicle is going. You have to have a trooper or police officer set up in the exact area where that suspect is going. The chances of that happening are very slim."
Hagar said the big issue is also manpower. To lay down those spikes, and to block the roads, takes a lot of people, which right now is not ideal as law enforcement is still going through a shortage of officers.
According to Hagar, the quickest way to end a pursuit going over 100 mph is by performing a PIT.