TONTITOWN, Ark. (AP) — Two Michigan men are being held on multiple charges after leading police on a high-speed chase through Arkansas and Oklahoma in a stolen U-Haul that contained weapons and Molotov cocktails, authorities said Friday.
Cory Robert Mercier, 21, and Trenton Johnson, 21, were arrested Wednesday after the chase in the cargo van that began in eastern Oklahoma and ended in Tontitown, Arkansas, located 147 miles (237 kilometers) northwest of Little Rock. Speeds during the pursuit exceeded 120 miles per hour, Tontitown Police said in a news release.
Mercier, who was driving the van, struck one vehicle in Oklahoma head-on, Tontitown Police said. Dash camera footage from Tontitown police of the chase shows the van darting in and out of traffic as it’s being pursued by multiple police vehicles.
The chase ended when a Tontitown officer performed a tactical vehicle intervention — bumping the rear of the van to make it stop. The police vehicle that hit the van rolled over multiple times and the officer was treated at a local hospital and released with minor injuries.