OWASSO, Okla.-- It's the type of scene Oklahoma Highway Patrol troopers train countless hours to prevent.
"We are always weighing the safety of the person we're chasing, the safety of the innocent public, and the safety of the trooper doing the chasing," said Oklahoma Highway Patrol Trooper Dwight Durant.
But an innocent woman was caught up in a chase that started near I-44 and Highway 169 as a traffic stop after troopers identified a stolen truck. When the trooper went to pull 32 year-old Blake Ferguson over, they said Ferguson took off headed northbound.
"They attempted to TVI where the suspect tried to run them off the road and was break checking them trying to get them to crash," said Durant.
Troopers say Ferguson led the chase to 76th Street North where he tried to turn right.
That's where investigators said Ferguson rammed into the woman, sending both cars off of the roadway.
Assessing the fatal crash scene, troopers found evidence Ferguson was impaired at the time if the chase and crash.
"In plain view in the vehicle were needles of that nature and we and we believe that drugs or alcohol were involved," said Durant.
Ferguson is being held in the Tulsa County jail and faces multiple charges, including first-degree and eluding police.
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