A 22-year-old man was arrested in Lowndes County after leading over two dozen law enforcement officers through campus and accross two counties in a high-speed car chase.
“Our class stopped and looked when we saw and heard five police cars drive toward the Drill Field,” MSU senior Julie Wiley said.
David D. Brooks, listed as a Starkville resident at 104 E. Garrad Road, is being held at Oktibbeha County Jail on a number of charges.
Brooks has been charged for five counts of aggravated assault, DUI other than from alcohol, speeding over 100 mph, reckless driving, two counts of improper passing, four accounts of disregarding a traffic control device, making an improper turn, failure to obey a police officer, two accounts of failure to yield to blue lights and misdemeanor possession of marijuana.
His initial violation came around 12:45 p.m. Tuesday, when the suspect made an illegal right turn from a left turn lane on Jackson Street onto U. S. Highway 82, nearly hitting an officer’s car and another vehicle. The pursuit began when the nearly hit officer attempted to pull the suspect over.
The suspect refused to stop and turned onto Tally Ho Drive with the officer still following. After attempting to lose the officer, the suspect went back to U.S. Highway 82 heading eastbound.
The involved police officer called for backup while Oktibbeha sherriff deputies set up road blocks on U.S. Highway 82.
Brooks went around the road blocks nearly hitting a Starkville officer and going straight toward MSU campus.
The suspect was heading south on George Perry Street crossing Lee Boulevard. He drove around the campus shuttle bus gate and behind McCool Hall, before turning onto the Drill Field.
The suspect drove eastward in front of the Swalm Chemical Engineering Building and then turned between the Mitchell Memorial Library and the Hand Chemical Laboratory Building.
The chase continued off campus and back onto U.S. Highway 82. The suspect ran a Mississippi Highway Patrol trooper off the road, and the trooper joined the chase, which then headed onto U.S. Highway 182 toward Lowndes County, local sheriffs said.
The chase ended when Brooks crashed his gray Hyundai Accent into a directional sign pointing toward the Golden Triangle Airport. The chase reached speeds over 120 mph and ended with authorities from Starkville Police Department, the Oktibbeha County Sheriff’s Department, the Mississippi Highway Patrol, the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Department, the Mississippi Department of Corrections, the Mississippi State Police Department and the Tri-County Narcotics Task Force being involved.