Pea Ridge Police responded to a two-vehicle collision today at around 6:42 a.m. on It'll Do Road. Police say one of the vehicles left the scene later causing a second accident.
The vehicle that took off was a black Ford passenger car with a Missouri vehicle license. While still on the scene of the accident, Pea Ridge Police Officers got a new report of the same vehicle involved at another accident at the intersection of Curtis Ave. and Slack St. This happened just minutes later at approximately 6:47 a.m.
The vehicle once again left the scene and drove East on Lee Town Road. Pea Ridge police soon located he 2016 Ford Fusion with front-end damage heading west on Pickens Road towards the center of town. Police then attempted to stop the vehicle but the vehicle did not stop. This then initiated a pursuit and continued west into the city.
During the chase, the vehicle struck a Pea Ridge Police car involved in the chase causing minor damage, but the chase did not stop there.
The chase continued and turned East on Pickens Rd. and ended near the intersection of Pickens Rd. and Bussey Lane. Officers initiated traffic stop procedures and tried to get cooperation from the driver identified as Benjamin David Lee Middleton, 21 of Platte City, Missouri. Middleton was the only person in the car and refused to cooperate.
This led police to remove him from the vehicle, and arrest procedures began. When police finally gained custody, Middleton was medically evaluated and cleared by paramedics on the scene. Middleton was then taken to Benton County jail where he is being charged with Fleeing, Resisting Arrest-Refusal to Submit to Arrest, and Two counts of Leaving the Scene of A Property Damage Accident along with multiple other traffic-related offenses.
Middleton is currently awaiting a bond hearing. This is incident is ongoing and additional charges could be pending towards Middleton.
