Police Search Arkansas River For 3rd Person After Chase Ends With Crash

One person is in critical condition after Tulsa Police said a driver crashed a car into the Arkansas River during a chase with officers near 61st Street and Riverside. 

“The car is wrecked. The car is in really, really bad shape," said Tulsa Police Captain Richard Meulenberg. “Basically when they struck the pole the entire passenger side forward was just ripped away from the car. There are pieces of engine, pieces of debris all over the roadway here. All over Riverside. When officers arrived so it’s just a miracle that person is alive at all.”

Captain Meulenberg said officers tried to pull the driver over for driving erratically, but the driver took off and crashed into the Arkansas River. He said an officer quickly jumped out of his patrol car and got into the water, rescuing the passenger, who was taken to the hospital. Police said the driver tried to swim away and officers used pepper balls to get him into custody. “It happened so very quickly that they just accelerated here and before they could start forming a plan they just launched off here," said Captain Meulenberg. 

He said they are waiting on the drivers' results from his blood work to see if he was intoxicated during the chase. “I can’t tell you if the question of level of intoxication or maybe a level of not wanting to work with us at this point, but we’re still trying to get that so we’re going to go back and revisit with the driver to see if we can get more information from him," said Captain Meulenberg.

He said the driver mentioned someone could have been in the backseat, but officers didn't find anyone in the car when they pulled it out of the river. “A lot of whatever would have been inside probably got carried away and swept down the river, said Captain Meulenberg.

He said the driver is in police custody and doesn't have any serious injuries. “Unfortunately, the person who is most at fault here is likely the least injured," said Captain Meulenberg.