The man who led authorities on a high-speed chase in a stolen car on an Arizona freeway fired his handgun several times during the incident, hitting a motor home and shooting at least once at a deputy during a foot pursuit, police said.
The chase prompted the evacuation of a popular park called Bearizona, where visitors can drive alongside bears and other wildlife in the woods about an hour south of the Grand Canyon. It took more than three hours to evacuate about 200 people from the wildlife park after it was placed on lockdown. Drivers in the area were warned not to pick up any hitchhikers.
The driver, 31-year-old John Freeman, was booked on a long list of charges, including aggravated assault on a peace officer, drive-by shooting, vehicle theft and possession of drug paraphernalia. Freeman has a previous felony conviction from Oregon for vehicle theft and a warrant for drug-related charges in Kingman, Arizona, authorities said. No injuries were reported from the gunshots.
A deputy pulled Freeman over in a stolen SUV for a moving violation Monday, prompting him to flee, police said.
The Yavapai County Sheriff's Office said a front-seat passenger was hospitalized for treatment of serious injuries suffered after he tried to jump from the car during the traffic stop on Interstate 40 near Ash Fork and got dragged by the SUV. He is not being prosecuted because he was merely a hitchhiker who caught a ride in the car.
Freeman himself tried to jump from the moving car after exiting the freeway, got caught in the door frame, was dragged down an embankment and then freed himself and ran off after the car crashed, the sheriff's office said.
Meanwhile, the rear-seat passenger climbed out of the crashed car and also began to run away but was caught within minutes, authorities said. The rear-seat passenger, 30-year-old Gideon Eads, was arrested on suspicion of vehicle theft and remained jail Tuesday.
Officials said Freeman didn't have a gun with him when he was found late Monday afternoon in a culvert. However, the gun was recovered Monday evening when Freeman guided deputies to where it was hidden, sheriff investigators said.
Records didn't indicate that Freeman and Jones had attorneys who could comment on the allegations, court officials said Tuesday.
