Published: May 15, 2009 11:45 pm      

One arrested following vehicle chase

By Brian Livingston

blivingston@themeridianstar.com



For a short time Friday afternoon, Lauderdale County Sheriff's Department authorities didn't know exactly what they had.

Initially deputies were on the lookout for a female driving southbound on Hwy. 19 North. Family members had asked the sheriff's department earlier Friday to look for her because the unidentified woman, who was traveling from Louisiana, had not arrived to her parents house Thursday night.

At about 4 p.m. a sheriff's deputy attempted a traffic stop on a vehicle matching that of the missing woman's. But when the deputy flashed his blue lights, the car sped away south on Hwy. 19 North into Meridian.

"There wasn't a white female driving the car but a black male," said LCSD Chief Dep. Ward Calhoun. "We began to wonder what had become of the owner of the car."

The chase entered Meridian and then turned back out north to Chandler Road off Hwy. 19 North. At the convergence of Pine Springs Road and State Boulevard, the driver lost control and flipped the car into a ditch. The car caught fire but the driver tried to stretch out his escape on foot. Deputies ran down the suspect and placed him into custody. The suspect, identified as Tommy Lee Parker, has now been charged with felony fleeing of law enforcement officers, suspended license, and failure to pay child support from an earlier warrant.

Firefighters from Suqualena Volunteer Fire and Rescue and the Meridian Fire Department responded to the wreck to extinguish the flames.

"Parker was able to tell us where the woman was and as it turned out she had allowed him to drive the car," said Calhoun. "She was found to be OK and unhurt at a residence north of Collinsville. Parker apparently didn't want to stop for the deputy because of the warrant and his not having a valid driver's license."

There were no injuries to Parker reported during the incident.