A 120-mph chase on Mississippi highway ends with suspect being subdued with Taser
Published 6:02 am Sunday, March 7, 2021
A Mississippi woman was arrested Thursday after reportedly driving her car at speeds up to 120 mph, using the grassy shoulder of the road to pass cars on a rural Mississippi highway.
Miracle Bryant, 27, of Hattiesburg, was subdued using a Taser and was charged with reckless driving, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and following too closely.
The Laurel Leader-Call reports that Bryant was taken into custody after reportedly driving erratically, going at speeds of up to 120 mph in a Kia when off-duty Jones County Sheriff’s Department deputy Eddie Ingram radioed in to dispatch about the incident. The deputy requested a marked unit while he followed the woman down Highway 11 from Moselle to Ellisville.
The Jones County incident report indicates Deputy Ingram was on Highway 11 when a vehicle approached his pickup from the rear at a high rate of speed. Ingram tried to slow down the speeding vehicle but was passed on the right side of the highway when the vehicle went into the grass and gravel on the shoulder of the road. Bryant reportedly raised her middle finger in the air as she passed, according to WDAM News in Hattiesburg.
The vehicle then continued up the highway at speeds over 120 mph, in and out of traffic, forcing other drivers off the road, the report said.
The chase ended on the Jones College campus when Bryant reportedly stopped in a campus parking lot. When Ingram got out, identified himself and told Bryant to wait for a uniformed officer, Bryant refused to comply.
When on-duty Deputy Howard Chandler arrived Bryant reportedly was yelling and using profane language. The deputies were able to handcuff Bryant, who asked bystanders to video the incident.
When Bryant refused to get in the squad car, Chandler reportedly attempted to use his Taser. Bryant reportedly grabbed the Taser, causing her to drop to the ground.
Ingram could be seen on body-cam footage propping up the suspect and making sure she was OK and Chandler can be seen checking her pulse. EMServ Ambulance and the Ellisville Fire Department responded, but Bryant refused medical treatment before being transported to jail, according to the report.
Cellphone videos of the arrest on social media prompted Jones College officials to issue a press release about the incident.
“We do not fully know the circumstances leading to the arrest other than alleged driving violations that occurred off-campus,” JC President Dr. Jesse Smith said in a press release and in an email that went out to students and faculty. “The Jones College Police Department was not involved with the arrest. The college is cooperating with the Jones County Sheriff’s Office to learn the facts of the arrest.”
The Jones College campus community was never in any danger, Smith noted in his statement.
“The safety of our campus community remains a foremost priority,” he said. “We work daily to ensure the continued safety of those who visit, study and call our campus home.
“The Jones College Administration, Faculty and Staff will continue to stand firm to ensure that the ideals of liberty, fairness and love for humanity are taught, lived and experienced by every member of the college community,” Smith said.
