FORT SMITH (KFSM) -- A woman is dead following a high-speed chase that ended in Fort Smith early Thursday morning (Dec. 22).
Officers said the chase began in Roland, Oklahoma. Jessica Schwarz, 27, was traveling down Highway 64 going 77 miles per hour, while the speed limit was 45, according to Roland Police.
Officers attempted to pull Schwarz over for a speeding violation, but she proceeded to speed away, officers said.
Fort Smith Police said Roland Officers did not pursue the chase once she crossed the Arkansas-Oklahoma state border.
Police said Schwarz crashed her vehicle into a stone wall near the intersection of Rogers Avenue and Garrison Avenue near Immaculate Conception Church around 12:15 a.m. Officers said she was pronounced dead at the scene.
"Shortly after we were told the pursuit had been cancelled, that's when the accident call came in," Fort Smith Police Department Sgt., Daniel Grubbs said. "Evidence at the scene suggests this was a fairly significant high-speed impact. It appears she was trying to negotiate the curve to continue East on Rogers [Avenue]. There's actually an island there as you make that curve and it appears her vehicle struck that which would have caused it to go airborne and it struck that retaining wall."
Police say Schwarz reached more than 100 miles per house on Garrison Avenue, but officers are still unsure why she was running from police.
"At this point, we've talked to family and there's nothing that would explain the erratic driving and the speed or if there was emotion involved, if there had been a fight, an argument, nothing," Sgt. Grubbs said.
The Rogers and Garrison intersection was closed for several hours as crews cleared the scene.
Police say they are now waiting on autopsy and toxicology results to determine what may have played a role in this accident. Those results could take several months to return from the Arkansas State Crime Lab.
Stay with 5NEWS as this story continues to develop.
