Long before the low-speed chase involving O.J. Simpson and the white Bronco on June 17, 1994, TV news programs in Los Angeles had mastered the craft of following high-speed police chases from helicopters. But ever since that day, stations across the nation have followed suit, always ready to air a wild chase involving multiple police vehicles and crazed outlaws or drunken fools.
I always wondered what it would be like to be in traffic as one of the mad dashes unfolded around your lane on the highway.
At a bit before 9 a.m. last Friday, I found out just how dangerous—and exhilarating—it can be.
I was eastbound on I-44, headed to Channel 9 for a visit with a group of Russian journalists, and traffic was rolling at a quick clip of about 70 miles per hour. Yes, the speed limit is 60 on that stretch of highway, but everyone was zipping along, and I had the thought “they can’t give us all tickets.”
Suddenly, in the rear-view mirror, it looked like every cop car in the world was bearing down on every car in every lane. My thought changed: “I’ll be darned. They are giving us all tickets.”
Then, a vehicle with an out-of-state license plate zoomed past me in the fast lane. The vehicle had been weaving in and out of traffic with police cars hot on his tail.
In the split second the vehicle was next to me, I saw three black males, one in the backseat. Amazingly, the driver seemed rather calm, and the passengers weren’t braced for a crash or praying to God. They just seemed to be out for a drive on a nice morning. I counted nine police cars and one cop on a motorcycle behind the Jeep. All involved in the chase were traveling at least 90 miles per hour.
In traffic, most bystanders had no choice but to stay in their lanes. We could not pull over, nor could we stop in the middle of the highway. We just kept going. What was weird was that we all increased speed. Maybe it was adrenaline. Maybe we subconsciously wanted to catch the bad guys or see them perish in a fiery crash.
Folks, it was as freaky a few seconds as I have ever experienced.
The chase continued to Jefferson, where the suspects got off the highway and headed south. They abandoned the car on Rutger Street and were arrested after fleeing into a building. The two adults now face multiple charges stemming from burglaries in Webster Groves and Glendale and from resisting arrest.
While the driver carries most of the blame, these idiots put countless lives—including those of the police officers—in danger, rather than face burglary charges.
Bond was set at $8,000 cash, an amount that I think is ridiculously low; the trio almost certainly will be back on the street in a matter of days. What is really scary is that they also might be behind the wheel of a car soon.
Crazy. Just plain crazy.
Commentary By Alvin Reid
