Arkansas State Police Trooper displays discretion upon learning driver's story (Report Included)

Trooper's Report:

On Monday, April 22, 2024, at approximately 8:58 PM, I, Trooper Garrett Byrd, was traveling eastbound on Broadway in West
Memphis, just west of the intersection of South Loop and Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive. I observed a passenger car traveling
north on South Loop disregard a red light at the intersection and continue north onto Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive, traveling at a
high rate of speed. As I turned north onto Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive, I observed the car with its emergency flashers on,
traveling over the Interstate 55 overpass. As I crossed the overpass, I observed it turning onto Interstate 40 eastbound.

I entered Interstate 40 eastbound, activated my emergency lights and siren, and began to catch up to the vehicle near the 283
mile marker, where I observed it cross from the inside lane to the outside lane in medium traffic. The vehicle began to slow
down to near the posted speed limit of 65 miles per hour as I got directly behind it in the outside lane. I observed the vehicle to
be a white Hyundai Elantra with Texas tags and informed Troop D dispatch. Rather than pulling over onto the outside shoulder,
the vehicle merged left into the middle lane, behind a tractor trailer, and passed an RV on the left side. Once we passed the
RV, and the tractor trailer merged to the outside lane, the passenger car continued traveling in the middle lane and began to
accelerate to over 80 miles per hour.

At the 284-mile marker, I began to perform a Tactical Vehicle Intervention. As I made contact with the vehicle, I observed the
vehicle began to slow down so I backed off the vehicle and gave the driver another opportunity to pull over. The vehicle then
pulled to the outside shoulder at the 284-mile marker. I performed a felony traffic stop and a female driver exited the vehicle
without incident. When she exited the vehicle and as I began to take her into custody, she was visibly distraught and was trying
to explain something to me as she pointed east. She was having trouble catching her breath and shaking, so I requested EMS
for a possible panic attack. I had her sit down on the guardrail and began to try to calm her down and understand what was
going on. She informed me her brother had been shot in the head and she was going to the hospital.

The female driver was identified as Britaney Mercedes Miles. While on scene, it was confirmed there was an
unknown male at Regional One Medical Center in Memphis, with a gunshot wound to the head. Miles was evaluated by EMS
and eventually calmed down. I spoke to Miles about the seriousness of her manner of driving and not stopping for law
enforcement. Considering Miles’ previously distraught state in addition to her cooperation and apparent understanding of her
wrongdoing, given the circumstances, Miles was released on her own recognizance after being informed of her charges and
court date.

Miles informed me she did not have insurance on her vehicle at the time of the traffic stop.

She was given a court date of May 31, 2024, at 9:30 AM, at West Memphis District Court, for the following charges:
Reckless
Driving, Fail to Stop at a Red Light, Speeding, No Liability Insurance, Careless and Prohibited Driving, and Fleeing.