Authorities in Arkansas are intensifying their search for Calvion Dayshun Thomas, a 23-year-old man accused of striking and killing a construction worker and seriously injuring another during a high-speed chase in West Memphis. The Arkansas State Police, alongside the U.S. Marshals, are leading the search for Thomas, who remains at large since the incident on the I-55 bridge last month. The chase began after West Memphis Police attempted to pull over Thomas for a traffic violation, leading to a pursuit that resulted in the tragic collision.
The victim has been identified as Justin Delgado, a 36-year-old contracted worker from Lola, Texas, who was working in the construction zone during the incident. According to Action News 5, Thomas was allegedly driving an burgundy Corvette, now a crucial piece of evidence in the case after being found by Memphis Police, torched in the 200 block of W. McKellar Ave. The other injured worker remains in critical condition; their suffering compounded by an act of recklessness on a night that has forever altered the course of many lives.
Charged with First-Degree Murder, First-Degree Battery, Theft by Receiving, and Fleeing, Thomas' actions have incited reactions from the community deeply affected by this tragedy. "They just trying to work. You feel me? Then you got people being ignorant on high speeds. It's sad,” Xavier Bennett of West Memphis, expressed in a statement obtained by FOX13 Memphis. Bennett also questioned the continuation of the chase into the construction zone, a sentiment shared by those who believe it put additional lives at risk.
The City of West Memphis has since asked the Arkansas State Police to investigate the crash further and has extended its condolences to Delgado's family and the surviving worker. Amid the ongoing legal procedures and manhunt for Thomas, the city's loss reverberates, highlighting the often imponderable cost of a single moment's escape turned catastrophe. Anyone with information about the whereabouts of Calvion Dayshun Thomas is prompted to contact state police at 1-877-926-332, a plea mirrored by the frustration in Cedric Dyer's words from Louisiana, who told FOX13 Memphis, “The driver should be arrested and thrown in jail.”
As photos of Thomas circulate in the media, officials are urging the public to aid in capturing a man whose reckless decisions have wrought irreversible damage to families and a community seeking justice. The suspect's image, released by Arkansas State Police and shared by WREG, underscores the urgency in apprehending someone able to discard human life in a desperate bid to flee accountability.
