Suspect In Custody Following Interstate Chase In Tuscaloosa

TUSCALOOSA, AL — The Tuscaloosa Police Department has taken a suspect into custody after he reportedly led officers on a brief vehicle pursuit Thursday afternoon.

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TPD spokeswoman Stephanie Taylor said that dispatchers received a call at 3:15 p.m. of a truck hauling a utility trailer that had been stolen from a location on McFarland Boulevard roughly a half hour earlier.

She went on to say officers located the truck in the area of Buttermilk Road and Clements Road at 3:40 p.m., where they tried to initiate a traffic stop.

Officers stated that the driver refused to stop, instead driving east on University Boulevard before making his way onto I-59/20. The suspect driver reportedly exited at Covered Bridge Road, then re-entered the interstate traveling north in the southbound lanes. While doing this, the driver lost the trailer, Taylor said.

Taylor then said the driver eventually stopped along the shoulder of the interstate and ran into the wood line. He was taken into custody around 4:30 p.m. after being located by TPD's Air 1 search helicopter.

His identity has not been released at this time and it is unclear what he will be charged with.

Multiple agencies, including the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, Tuscaloosa County Sheriff's Office and Coaling Police Department assisted in the search, in addition to TPD's tracking K9.

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