PHOTOS: 3 vehicles crashed, pursuit went through Little Rock before I-630 arrest

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/JEFF MITCHELL - 06/22/2017 - Police surround crashed cars after a high speed chase ended on I-630 near the Scott Street overpass in downtown Little Rock, June 23, 2017.
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/JEFF MITCHELL - 06/22/2017 - Police surround crashed cars after a high speed chase ended on I-630 near the Scott Street overpass in downtown Little Rock, June 23, 2017.

An 18-year-old Little Rock man was arrested Friday morning after he led authorities on a chase through Pulaski County, crashed two stolen vehicles and hit a police cruiser on Interstate 630, officials said.

Darren Thomas surrendered after the I-630 crash, the sheriff's office said.

According to reports, Thomas admitted to stealing multiple vehicles and to other offenses, including taking credit cards and a purse out of separate vehicles, and breaking into a vehicle and spreading feces on its dashboard and windows.

The investigation started when the Pulaski County sheriff's office received a call about a vehicle break-in on Burlingame Road outside the Little Rock city limits Friday morning, Lt. Cody Burk said.

A detective was on his way to work and went to the scene, Burk said. He found a man who matched the suspect's description, but that man jumped in a vehicle and took off, Burk said.

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Photos by Gavin Lesnick

Pulaski County deputies pursued the man, later identified as Thomas, who crashed the vehicle and took off running through some woods, Burk said. The man then stole a vehicle and drove away from authorities, he said.

The man later crashed that vehicle, Burk said, and stole another one. The locations of the two crashes were not immediately known.

During the ensuing police pursuit, the man wound a vehicle through parts of Little Rock, including on Rodney Parham Road, Markham Street and University Avenue around Park Plaza mall, Burk said. He was traveling at 35-40 mph and likely reached 60 mph at his fastest, Burk said.

The man drove onto, off of and back onto I-630 in Little Rock until he ran into the left side of a Pulaski County sheriff's office vehicle at the Cumberland Street overpass, Burk said. At that point, the vehicle the man was driving was missing a right front tire and he was driving on the rim, Burk said.

No one was injured in any of the crashes, Burk said.

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