12 News Arizona

On Sunday afternoon, troopers fired at an unarmed truck driver who led police on a 100-mile chase on I-40 in Arizona. The chase hit speeds over 100 miles per hour.

DPS troopers stated that the chase began when other drivers reported that the tractor-trailer was being driven dangerously.

At around 8:30 a.m., the pursuit began near Kingman. According to Police, the truck driver was headed west on I-40, drove through California, then reentered Arizona, and then traveled back towards Kingman.

The pursuit ended near Ash Fork, around milepost 152, after officers used road spikes to puncture the suspect’s tires.

Officials stated that the driver got out of his vehicle and ran.

12 News Arizona
12 News Arizona

According to Damon Cecil with the Arizona Department of Public Safety, troopers felt threatened, claiming that the suspect motioned with his cell phone as if it were a gun.

Officers fired four shots at the unarmed man, and he was not hit.

According to ABC 15 Arizona, the suspect is now in custody and has suffered non-life threatening injuries from a Police canine who captured and bit him.

No troopers or other drivers were hurt.

I-40 near Ash Fork was closed in both directions on Sunday afternoon following the high-speed pursuit for about four hours.

Left lanes of both east- and westbound I-40 remained closed for some time, leading to a 14-mile backup of traffic on Interstate 17 from Flagstaff toward Phoenix in the afternoon.

ADOT stated that detours included Highway 89 and west of Williams.

The interstate has now been reopened.