Sheriff: High-speed chase ends, but then car crashes into train at crossing in Little Rock

This photo taken by Pulaski County sheriff's office Lt. Cody Burk shows a Ford Crown Victoria after it crashed into a train Tuesday night in Little Rock.
This photo taken by Pulaski County sheriff's office Lt. Cody Burk shows a Ford Crown Victoria after it crashed into a train Tuesday night in Little Rock.

One man was arrested Tuesday night after leading authorities on a high-speed chase that ended shortly before he crashed a car into a train, the Pulaski County sheriff's office said.

Ozell Smith III, 30, suffered minor injuries in the crash at tracks along Frazier Pike near the Little Rock Port Authority. He was treated at a nearby hospital before being booked into the Pulaski County jail on charges that included reckless driving and fleeing, and he remained there Wednesday afternoon with bail not yet set.

According to a Pulaski County sheriff's office report, Deputy Kennon Slocum around 7:40 p.m. spotted a Ford Crown Victoria driving without its headlights illuminated on Rooselvelt Road near Interstate 30.

The vehicle didn't stop when Slocum tried to pull it over, and he pursued it as the car reached speeds of 90 mph, the report said. The chase was ended at that point.

Ozell Smith III
Ozell Smith III

A short time later, Slocum came upon the vehicle again on Frazier Pike.

"As I approached the vehicle it appeared to have struck a passing train," he wrote, noting that the driver — later identified as Smith — was getting out of the car.

He was ordered to the ground at gunpoint before being arrested.

Police said a "small glass pipe commonly used to smoking methamphetamine" was found in the car.

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