Driver arrested after 2-state chase; second person sought

FORT SMITH — A man from Bonanza, just south of Fort Smith on the Oklahoma border, was arrested in Sebastian County on Sunday night after a police pursuit that involved him and another person who has yet to be found.

Ron Peerson, 49, was arrested by the Sebastian County sheriff’s office on accusations of fleeing by vehicle, fleeing on foot and reckless driving, according to a news release Monday from Capt. Philip Pevehouse. Peerson was also booked at the Sebastian County jail on charges related to furnishing a prohibited article and felony possession of drug paraphernalia. A parole violation was placed on him as well.

Oklahoma Highway Patrol troopers chased a vehicle with two people inside about 8:30 p.m. Sunday, according to Pevehouse.

The pursuit proceeded off Interstate 540 into Arkansas at U.S. 271 and Arkansas 253. A Sebastian County deputy saw the pursuit pass in front of him.

Pevehouse said the pursuit went through the Brooken Hill area and onto U.S. 71 South in Fort Smith. The sheriff’s office terminated the pursuit as the vehicle was circling an apartment complex in the 3400 block of Duke Avenue.

Soon afterward, however, the deputy saw the pickup stopped in the complex, and one person was seen running away from it. The deputy pursued the man, later identified as Peerson, on foot and arrested him.

The whereabouts of the second person in the vehicle were not determined, Pevehouse said. Units from other agencies responded, but their search was unsuccessful.

Pevehouse identified Peerson as the driver of the vehicle. Upon his arrest, Peerson reportedly told deputies he “did not really know” the other person.

Peerson also told deputies that the other person was both armed and an escapee from Oklahoma. Pevehouse said that none of Peerson’s claims could be confirmed as of Monday.