GREENWOOD, Ark. — Police have released new details on a deadly high-speed chase that took place in Greenwood on Friday.
A police report says that officers received an alert about a vehicle stolen out of Fort Smith entering Greenwood on March 8. A camera captured the vehicle traveling eastbound on W Center Street from Hwy 71.
After an attempt to intercept the vehicle in a nearby parking lot, the driver began evading officers. The report says that, after escaping the parking lot the driver was cornered in, he "accelerated, fish tailed in the ditch, and climbed back onto W Center Street."
The driver, later identified as Kelvin Willis, began traveling at a high rate of speed toward and onto Hwy 71.
The report says that during the chase, Willis reached speeds of over 100 mph, wove in and out of traffic, and passed drivers on the shoulder.
The police report says that shortly after Arkansas State Police joined in the chase, the vehicle "left the roadway and struck a metal traffic light pole" before hitting another vehicle.
Police say that the stolen vehicle suffered "catastrophic damage." Willis was pronounced dead on the scene. An adult passenger and an infant were in the vehicle.
"Once at the crash scene, the vehicle was lying on its passenger side. I could hear yelling coming from inside the vehicle. Officers attempted to extract the driver and passenger but were unable to do so because of the extensive damage. I then heard a crying baby coming from the back seat. I was able to climb into the back seat and cut the seat belt free and pull the car seat up to the window. The baby was only strapped in by her shoulder straps," the report said.
The passenger and infant were transported to a nearby hospital. The adult passenger told police that the baby was his daughter. Willis reportedly picked the two up in Fort Smith with plans to visit someone in Greenwood, and the passenger claimed to not know Willis.
The adult passenger told police that he didn't know why Willis fled, and that Willis said something to the effect of "I can't let them catch me in this car." The report said that the passenger did not know anything about the vehicle.
The infant was reportedly uninjured, while the adult passenger appeared to have a broken right arm or wrist and possible internal injuries, the report said.
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