An Arkansas police officer is recovering after his patrol car flipped while he was taking a suspect to jail Thursday, trapping the officer and sending the suspect flying through a window.
Patrolman Justin Thompson, of the Jonesboro Police Department, was flown by helicopter to a hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, after firefighters cut him out of his police car. He has since been treated and released, according to the Craighead County Sheriff's Office.
Deputies said Thompson was taking a suspect, identified by KAIT as 19-year-old Logan Younger, to the Craighead County Detention Center when his car overturned.
Video footage obtained by KAIT showed Younger slip out of his handcuffs and hit the back of Thompson's seat before the accident, which sent Younger through the car's back windshield.
Police Sgt. Cassie Brandon told the news station Thompson lost control of the car and apparently hit a curb before the vehicle flipped. Witnesses indicated he may have been trying to get to jail quickly to deal with the rowdy suspect.
"He flipped on his blue lights and he sped up," witness Rocky Key told KAIT. "Next thing I know, I see dust everywhere and the car flipped."
Though witnesses said he appeared dazed by the crash, Younger attempted to escape after the accident.
"I tried to get him to stop," wrote witness Kelly Gregson Taylor in a Facebook post about the crash. She recorded video of the subsequent and short chase for Younger.
"He ran right by me and said 'I did nothing wrong,' and I yelled for him to stop but knew I couldn't stop him myself," she wrote.
The chase for Younger ended after an officer used a Taser gun on him, according to KAIT. Brandon told the news station Thompson, who has been with Jonesboro police since December 2015, suffered from a minor concussion but had no broken bones or serious injuries.
"He is incredibly lucky," Brandon said.
Younger was booked into the Craighead County Detention Center on charges of escape, public intoxication, fleeing on foot, and minor in possession of drugs or alcohol.
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