A police chase in Oklahoma could have easily turned deadly as a member of the Oklahoma Highway Patrol almost sent a fleeing truck tumbling into oncoming traffic.
As you can see in the video, police were chasing a white pickup that appears to be a Chevrolet Silverado. As the truck begins to enter the highway, a patrol car performs a PIT maneuver.
This causes the driver of the truck to lose control and jump a median as the rear end fishtails. Things quickly take a scary turn as the truck rolls over on the highway and barrels towards an oncoming pickup. Thankfully, a concrete barrier prevents a collision.
Also Watch: Questions Raised After Police Trooper Performs Deadly 109 MPH PIT Maneuver
If that wasn’t crazy enough, the truck eventually flips right-side up. Despite suffering significant damage, the pickup is still drivable and it continues to elude police. After several failed PITs, the driver pulls over and surrenders.
Details about the incident are limited, but the McLoud Police Department told KFOR an officer was watching a known drug area and noticed the pickup leave and break a traffic law. The officer attempted to pull the vehicle over, but Chief Wes Elliott told the station it “took off at a high rate of speed.”
This sparked the chase which eventually led to the arrest of 43-year-old Floyd Grass and an unnamed passenger. There’s no word on what charges the pair is facing, but they were reportedly unharmed in the rollover.
Are these kind of pit maneuvers a public safety issue?
The close call comes shortly after the Arkansas State Police came under fire for performing a PIT maneuver at 109 mph (175 km/h) last month. That incident resulted in the death of 34-year-old Justin Battenfield and sparked in investigation into whether or not authorities acted appropriately by performing a PIT maneuver at such high speeds.