A man driving a car stolen out of Bastrop County, Texas led Miami, Oklahoma police on a high-speed chase through city streets before crashing into a light pole and running on foot, according to police. Officers ultimately caught up with 34-year-old Bryant Anthony Haynes with help from a local resident who pointed out which direction he'd run.
According to News On 6, Miami police had been working to recover the stolen vehicle when an officer spotted it traveling at a high rate of speed on North Main Street and attempted to stop it. Instead of pulling over, Haynes allegedly drove north through Miami while weaving through traffic, traveling in the wrong lane and running traffic signals as officers pursued him from Miami into the adjacent community of North Miami.
The chase ended when Haynes reportedly lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a light pole, per the Miami, Oklahoma Police Department, which confirmed the suspect's booking location and custody status. Haynes then fled the wrecked car on foot, prompting officers to fan out through the neighborhood in search of him.
A Neighbor's Tip Sealed the Arrest
Police say a local resident helped close in on Haynes by pointing responding officers toward the direction he had run after abandoning the crashed vehicle, a detail the department highlighted as an example of community assistance during the pursuit. Officers located Haynes shortly after and took him into custody.
The Miami Police Department publicly released body camera video Sunday documenting both the high-speed pursuit through city streets and the foot chase that led to the arrest, according to KSN 16. Haynes was booked into the Ottawa County Jail in Miami, where he faces multiple anticipated charges related to the incident, per News On 6's reporting.
A Long Haul From Texas to Oklahoma
Bastrop County, Texas, where the vehicle was originally reported stolen, sits more than 500 miles south of Miami, connected by a network of interstates and highways including Interstate 35, U.S. Route 69 and Interstate 44, according to Rome2Rio. That corridor makes northeastern Oklahoma a frequent crossing point for vehicles moving between Texas and the Midwest, and it puts Miami's local streets — including North Main Street, where the pursuit began — squarely in the path of interstate traffic. The city of roughly 12,900 residents is the county seat of Ottawa County and sits near the Kansas and Missouri borders, per the U.S. Census Bureau.
Miami is bisected by historic U.S. Route 66 and U.S. Route 69 and sits adjacent to Interstate 44, which links Oklahoma City and Tulsa directly toward Missouri, according to the Miami Oklahoma Convention and Visitors Bureau. That heavy regional traffic flow helps explain why high-speed pursuits and interstate auto thefts so often play out on the city's surface streets.
What Haynes Could Be Facing
Under Oklahoma law, fleeing or attempting to elude a peace officer becomes a felony carrying up to eight years in state prison and fines of up to $5,000 when the driver endangers others or causes an accident during the chase, according to the Urbanic Law Firm. Basic eluding without endangerment is treated as a misdemeanor in the state, but the crash into the light pole could push any eluding charge against Haynes into felony territory.
Separately, receiving or possessing a stolen motor vehicle is its own felony under Oklahoma law, carrying a potential sentence of one to five years in prison, according to the Kania Law Office. Prosecutors would need to establish that Haynes knew or had reason to know the vehicle was stolen before that charge could stick. It remains unclear exactly which charges the Ottawa County District Attorney's Office will formally file.
Not the First High-Risk Chase in Ottawa County
This is not the first time Miami-area law enforcement has dealt with a dangerous pursuit tied to a stolen vehicle. In June, a separate multi-agency pursuit of a stolen vehicle through Miami ended in a fatal shootout on Interstate 44 after the fleeing suspect brandished a firearm, an incident that involved Miami police, tribal marshals and the Ottawa County Sheriff's Office, according to BNO News. Back in February 2019, officers also engaged in a high-speed chase through town after a suspect in a stolen vehicle swerved toward an officer following a retail theft, an incident that ended with an off-road apprehension and was likewise documented on released dashcam footage, per the City of Miami, Oklahoma.
News On 6's report on Haynes' arrest was authored by digital producer Samantha Rupe, who joined the station's team in 2022 after graduating from Harding University with a bachelor's degree in broadcast journalism.
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