Toddler emerges from overturned car after Arkansas police chase; pursuit scrutiny grows

A 3-year-old boy climbed out of an overturned vehicle in rural Arkansas after his mother led state troopers on a high-speed chase, the latest in a series of dramatic pursuit incidents drawing renewed attention to the dangers of police chases across the country.

Arkansas State Police said the May 2 crash occurred on State Highway 118 in Joiner, in Mississippi County, after Trooper Teddy Henderson attempted to stop a Dodge Charger for traveling 80 mph in a 55 mph zone. The driver refused to pull over, and Henderson eventually used a tactical vehicle intervention — a maneuver in which officers use their patrol car to force a fleeing vehicle to spin out — causing the Charger to flip onto its roof.

As the trooper held position at gunpoint while waiting for backup, the driver opened the door and helped her 3-year-old son out of the wreckage.

“You’re OK, come right here, baby, come right here,” Mr. Henderson is heard saying on dashcam footage while ushering the boy to safety. Both were medically cleared — the child was released to an adult family member at the scene, and his mother was transported to the emergency room in Osceola for medical evaluation before being booked into the Mississippi County jail, according to the ASP incident report.

The driver, identified as 23-year-old Thalia Jones, was charged with speeding, reckless driving, fleeing by vehicle, driving with a suspended license, first-degree endangering the welfare of a minor and unauthorized use of another person’s property to facilitate a crime — the vehicle belonged to Jones’ boyfriend, police said. Mr. Henderson also reported the incident to the Arkansas Child Abuse Hotline.

A separate high-speed chase in Wisconsin added to the week’s dramatic footage. On Saturday, a 44-year-old Milwaukee man with an active felony warrant led Fond du Lac County sheriff’s deputies and Wisconsin State Patrol troopers on a roughly 4.5-mile chase before losing control of his vehicle, sending it airborne over Winnebago Street and into a field. The driver fled on foot before deputies deployed an electronic control device and took him into custody. He was booked into the Fond du Lac County Jail on charges including fleeing and eluding, first-degree recklessly endangering safety and felony bail jumping.

The incidents arrive amid a broader national debate over police pursuit policies. A year-long San Francisco Chronicle “Fast and Fatal” investigation found that at least 3,336 people were killed during police pursuits in the United States between 2017 and 2022 — at least 551 of them bystanders — with most chases stemming from traffic violations and other nonviolent offenses.

In January 2025, New York City moved to restrict the practice. The NYPD announced a policy limiting officer discretion to initiate vehicle pursuits to only the most serious and violent crimes — felonies and violent misdemeanors — barring chases for traffic infractions, violations and nonviolent misdemeanors. The policy took effect Feb. 1, 2025.