Florida man jailed after semi rams Highway Police, State Police units in I-30 pursuit through Hope

HOPE, Ark. — A Florida truck driver was jailed Monday after a tractor-trailer rammed an Arkansas Highway Police unit and an Arkansas State Police unit during a pursuit on Interstate 30 and through the streets of Hope, according to the Hempstead County jail roster and scanner traffic monitored by TXK Today.

Victor Joel Colon, 29, of Punta Gorda, Florida, was booked into the Hempstead County Detention Center at 12:07 p.m. on three counts of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, along with fleeing, reckless driving and leaving the scene of an accident, the roster shows. No bond amount was listed.

The pursuit began about at least hour earlier and 75 miles away. At about 9:30 a.m., Arkansas Highway Police officers reported trying to stop the 18-wheeler on I-30 westbound near Benton, according to Arkansas State Police Troop A radio traffic. The truck did not stop, and Highway Police told its District 4 units to head toward Arkadelphia. It tripped a Clark County traffic camera near Arkadelphia at 10:09 a.m.

A Highway Police officer spotted the white Peterbilt westbound at mile marker 34, east of Hope, at about 10:37 a.m. and pulled in front of it, slowing the truck to about 12 mph near mile marker 31. The officer reported over the radio that the truck kept trying to go around him and had tried to ram him.

At about 10:41 a.m., the truck took the exit 31 ramp into Hope. Moments later, the officer in Unit 671 reported, “I’ve been hit.”

Troopers from State Police Troop G, which is headquartered in Hope, joined the chase as the truck ran along Arkansas 29, U.S. 278 and Commerce Boulevard and turned north on Hervey Street near McDonald’s. One trooper reported the truck “came at” the troopers trying to cut it off. State Police took over as the lead agency at about 10:44 a.m. as the truck re-entered I-30 eastbound, and a trooper then reported the truck had also collided with a State Police unit.

On the interstate, a trooper shot out the truck’s front steer tire at about 10:47 a.m., and troopers deployed spike strips. The truck continued eastbound at speeds of up to about 70 mph as the tire came apart, according to the radio traffic. Troopers forced it to a stop near mile marker 37 at about 10:50 a.m. and took the driver into custody about two minutes later. No injuries were reported over the radio.

Highway Police closed I-30 eastbound behind the stop. Traffic backed up to mile marker 33, and a separate two-vehicle crash with no injuries was reported in the backup near mile marker 34. Lanes reopened at about 10:58 a.m. The Highway Police unit that was struck was still drivable and was moved to the Arkansas Department of Transportation District 3 headquarters.

The jail roster lists the Hempstead County Sheriff’s Office as the arresting agency. Arkansas State Police had not released a statement on the pursuit as of Monday afternoon.

Charges listed on a jail roster are preliminary and may change. Anyone charged with a crime is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.