DPS officer injured trying to stop fleeing truck east of Tucson
The Associated Press
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 08.19.2008
advertisementAn officer was injured Tuesday morning while deploying a spike strip in an effort to stop a truck that was fleeing from police on Interstate 10 near Benson.
At 9:09 a.m., an Arizona Department of Public Safety Officer attempted to stop a Chevrolet pickup truck on westbound I-10 at milepost 295 for speeding and a tint violation, according to Officer Robert Bailey, an agency spokesman.
When the driver refused to stop, a nine-minute pursuit ensued during which the truck’s tires were spiked, he said.
The spike strip slowed the vehicle down, but when officers realized that there were approximately six or seven suspected illegal immigrants in the back and another two or three in the front, the pursuit was terminated, Bailey said.
The truck went off the roadway and the DPS contacted the Border Patrol to let the agency know that the occupants may have bailed in the desert, Bailey said.
The extent of the officer’s injuries to his hand were unknown, Bailey said.
No further information was available.
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