I-40 car chase exceeds 100 mph before suspect runs and is caught

ERIC NEWMAN

Further details have become available after Yavapai County sheriff’s deputies located and arrested a man Monday at about 5:30 p.m. following a chase on Interstate 40 that reached speeds of more than 100 mph and a search that shut down a popular northern Arizona tourist attraction, sheriff’s officials said.

After deputies attempted a traffic stop in Ash Fork about 10:45 a.m., the driver of the vehicle, who officials later identified as John Freeman, 31, sped off and began leading officers on a chase eastbound on I-40 in a maroon Kia sedan, the Sheriff’s Office said.

As Freeman pulled away, the front-side passenger door then opened and the passenger tried to jump out, but got tangled in the door and was dragged by the moving vehicle as it accelerated, the Sheriff ’s Office said in a statement. The vehicle then stopped again and the passenger was able to free himself and roll onto the shoulder of the highway. That person sustained serious injuries and was hospitalized, officials said.

Freeman fired a handgun out the passengerside window, striking the driver’s-side body of a motor home that was also eastbound on I-40, officials said. The projectile was later recovered from the motor home. A K9 deputy caught up to the speeding vehicle and continued following it with lights and siren activated. The vehicle continued to flee at speeds between 100 and 120 mph on east I-40, officials said.

At Exit 165 east of Williams, the car left the interstate, spewing white smoke, and Freeman tried to jump out of the moving vehicle while turning right, officials said. He was caught in the door and was dragged by the moving car until it crashed into a tree, officials said. At that point, Freeman ran into the woods and discharged his handgun at least once at pursuing officers, causing authorities to shut down the nearby Bearizona Wildlife Park near Williams as law-enforcement officers searched for him, officials said.

The Coconino County Sheriff’s Office and the Arizona Department of Public Safety also assisted Yavapai County deputies in the search, which lasted several hours.

As Freeman attempted to escape, another passenger, identified as 30-yearold Gideon Eads, climbed out of the rear passenger side of the car and attempted to run away as well, authorities said.

Eads, who told law-enforcement authorities that he had feared for his life while in the car, was arrested at the scene. He confirmed that Freeman had shot his gun at least once out of the passenger’s side of the moving vehicle, as well as during the chase into the woods, officials said. Eads was booked on suspicion of vehicle theft.

Freeman was found about 5:45 p.m. in a culvert about a half-mile south of I- 40 near Bearizona, officials said. He was arrested and a handgun was recovered, officials said.

The Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office said Freeman admitted knowing that the vehicle he was driving during the chase was reported stolen in Kingman and had fictitious license plates. He also admitted possession of pipes in the car that he had used to smoke methamphetamine, officials said. After his arrest, Freeman voluntarily led officers to where he had hidden his gun, officials added.