It’ll forever be amazing how quickly a routine traffic stop often turns into a full-blown police chase. With how little people running from the police actually get away with it, you’d think most folks would know by now that they’re only going to add to any charges coming their way. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case.
This Challenger Hellcat driver was driving without license plates
Dodge Challenger Hellcat | Ted Soqui/Corbis via Getty Images
According to New Orleans, Louisiana, news channel WWL-TV, a police officer attempted to stop Kody McElveen, the 24-year-old driver of the Hellcat. He was driving the vehicle without license plates.
However, McElveen had other plans. The article states that he did not stop at all. Instead, he led officers on a pursuit down Lousiana 36 and U.S. Highway 190. A secondary police department joined the pursuit, deploying road blocking tactics. An officer from the St. Tammany sheriff’s department deployed a spike strip on the street in an effort to stop the vehicle. McElveen swerved at the officer deploying the spike strip and struck him with the Hellcat. The officer was sent to the hospital with minor injuries and is OK, thankfully.
The dramatic scene unfolds in a video on Facebook. The officer is seen standing in the road setting the spike strip. When he realizes the Hellcat driver is swerving toward him, he attempts to avoid the hit but can’t get out of the way in time. Be forewarned, though, despite the officer’s minor injuries; it’s still a fairly graphic video to watch. Facebook marked it as such, as well. Don’t say we didn’t warn you!
McElveen escaped the police pursuit. However, as we all know, you can’t escape the radio. The Sheriff’s office reports that the vehicle was found parked in a grocery store parking lot. Witnesses told police that McElveen was inside and waited outside the grocery store. McElveen eventually emerged and began to run when he noticed the police outside waiting for him. He was, however, caught and arrested.
The stack of charges is huge
2022 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Widebody overhead | Stellantis
When you start getting into the charges, you start to understand why the driver of this rogue Hellcat attempted to flee police. At the top of the charge list comes illegal possession of a firearm and possession of a schedule I narcotic. However, McElveen would have been far better off with just those charges. Now, he’s got quite a list of much more severe charges.
Reckless Operation and six counts of Failure to Stop or Yield are bad enough charges, to begin with. It gets much worse, though. Aggravated Flight from an Officer sounds much worse, though. Yet, these still aren’t even the heftiest charges McElveen earned on his Hellcat adventure. Aggravated Assault with a Motor Vehicle Upon a Peace Officer and, worse still, Attempted Murder of a Police Officer charges were also added to his charge list.
Ultimately, this is another instance of a situation that could have been resolved much more peacefully. Unfortunately, that isn’t how it went. However, it’s good to know that nobody got seriously injured during this Hellcat rampage. Unfortunately, McElveen is not likely to see life outside of a prison cell if convicted of his charges, given their severity. However, the WWL-TV reports that this incident is still currently under investigation.
Keyword: Hellcat Driver Hits Police Officer During Chase to Avoid Spike Strips