publicsafetyunleashed

A high-speed chase in Canadian County ended in a crash near the Cimarron Road exit. It started as a routine traffic stop on 1-40 when authorities said Andrew Sawyers of Florida was traveling at a high rate of speed through a construction zone. "When our agent approached the driver's window, he noticed two empty beer bottles in the passenger's seat," said Mark Woodward, spokesman for the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics. When the driver was asked to step out of the vehicle, the OBN agent noticed him putting something in his jacket pocket. "He asked the driver what it was and the driver reached into his jacket pocket and with two fingers he pulled out a weapon, a hand gun, and dropped it to his feet and immediately jumped into his car and took off," Woodward said. Officials said the driver headed eastbound on 1-40 and that he was traveling more than 100 miles an hour for 25 miles. The chase ended when the driver crashed into some trees after exiting at Cimarron Road. Sawyers was taken to a hospital for his injuries. In addition to the handgun in his jacket, agents also found two rifles. Sawyers faces charges including eluding a police officer as well as weapon charges.