LITTLE ROCK, AR — An Arkansas State Police trooper crashed into a concrete barrier during a high-speed pursuit in Little Rock after a Dodge Challenger he had stopped suddenly sped away. The chase, which took place on Nov. 24, 2023, ended with the patrol car badly damaged and the Challenger escaping.
The trooper, Blayn Lucas, had pulled over the dark green Dodge because he could not read its license plate. What began as a routine traffic stop quickly became a fast-moving pursuit that wound through highways and city streets before Lucas lost control on an exit ramp.
Traffic stop on Interstate 630 turned into a pursuit
An earlier Natural State Transparency video places the stop on I-630 at Marshall Street in downtown Little Rock. That recording was posted days after the incident and showed the beginning of the encounter before the driver took off.
According to the video and later accounts of the chase, Lucas was walking toward the Dodge when the driver accelerated away. The car’s rear tires spun as it pulled off, forcing the trooper to return to his vehicle and give chase.
The sequence of events highlights how quickly a minor traffic stop can escalate. A tag that was hard to read led to a pursuit that moved through one of the city’s busiest traffic corridors.
Driver weaves through highways and city streets before returning to I-30
Lucas followed the Challenger west on Interstate 30, then continued after it left the highway for local streets. The Dodge later got back onto I-30 and kept running, staying ahead of the trooper as traffic moved around them.
The chase did not stay on one road for long. At another exit, both vehicles left the highway again, setting up the moment that ended the pursuit.
By then, the pace of the chase had already put the patrol car under pressure. The route forced the trooper to make quick decisions in traffic while trying to keep sight of the suspect vehicle.
Trooper loses control on a left-hand curve and hits wall
As Lucas entered a left-hand curve on the ramp, his patrol car struck the concrete wall. The impact stopped the chase and allowed the Challenger to get away.
Lucas told dispatch that he had crashed and lost the vehicle he was following. His written account later said he did not slow enough before entering the curve. He reported that the front-right corner of the cruiser hit the wall and that the car traveled along it before coming to a stop.
Photos from earlier coverage showed damage down the passenger side of the cruiser and deployed airbags. The wreck left the vehicle out of service and brought other troopers to the scene.
Supervisor and other troopers respond after the wreck
After the crash, Lucas’s supervisor and other state troopers arrived at the scene. A tow truck later hauled the cruiser back to Arkansas State Police headquarters.
Lucas was taken to UAMS, a Little Rock hospital, for a medical check. Earlier coverage said he avoided serious injury, though the crash left the patrol car with visible damage.
The response after the wreck was a standard follow-up to a pursuit that had already ended. With the Challenger gone, troopers shifted from chasing the vehicle to handling the crash scene and checking on the officer involved.
The chase resurfaced in a new police video years later
The pursuit reappeared in a Nov. 1 police-chase compilation posted by MrHaos, bringing new attention to the 2023 incident. In that video, the Challenger chase begins around the 10:32 mark, while the earlier Natural State Transparency clip lets viewers watch the stop on its own.
The renewed attention underscores how often police chase videos circulate long after the original event. In this case, the footage shows both the speed of the getaway and the split-second mistake that sent the patrol car into the barrier.
Even with the crash and the damaged cruiser, the Dodge Challenger remained out of reach. The incident is remembered as much for the chase itself as for the hard impact that ended it.
