SLIDELL, La. — A man crashed his vehicle after trying to flee from a traffic stop Monday evening near Slidell according to the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office.
The crash happened shortly before 6:15 p.m. Monday when a St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s deputy initiated a traffic stop on an Infiniti SUV for no license plate while traveling on I-10 near Slidell.
The sheriff’s office says the vehicle failed to immediately pull over but exited at Fremaux Avenue and came to a stop on Hwy 190E.
“As the passenger of the vehicle reached into the vehicle’s glove box to retrieve paperwork, the deputy observed a firearm, and the passenger was removed from the vehicle for the deputy’s safety,” an STPSO report says.
“After securing the passenger and firearm in his unit, the deputy re-approached the vehicle. However, as he was approaching, the driver fled east on 190E in the vehicle.”
The sheriff’s report says the vehicle made an erratic U-turn on 190E and fled West on Hwy 190E at a high rate of speed.
As the vehicle approached the intersection of Hwy 190E and I-10 the suspect vehicle ran the red light and struck another vehicle according to the report.
The backseat passenger in the SUV was ejected from the vehicle and was transported to an area hospital by emergency medical personnel.
The driver, identified as 20-year-old Charles Jones of Slidell, and the front seat passenger, 19-year-old Frederick Price of Slidell, were taken into custody.
The sheriff’s office points out in the report that the vehicle was not being pursued by deputies and that the vehicle crashed prior to any secondary units arriving on the scene.
Price was arrested and booked into the St. Tammany Parish Correctional Center on one count of simple possession of marijuana.
Three firearms, illegal narcotics, ski masks, blank checks, and burglary tools were located inside the vehicle.
“Once again, trying to elude arrest only resulted in placing innocent individuals in danger and more charges for the perpetrator,” St Tammany Parish Sheriff Randy Smith said. “Thankfully no innocent civilians nor deputies were injured during this incident.”
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