A 21-year-old Jonesboro man allegedly spun his tires and sped off just as an Arkansas State Police trooper opened his patrol car door to make an arrest on Interstate 57, triggering a pursuit that ended after the pickup rotated clockwise and Beason regained control before stopping on the right shoulder. Richardson wrote that Beason would be charged with multiple offenses stemming from the encounter, which unfolded in Jackson County two Fridays ago.
According to NEA Report, the incident began on September 18 when Arkansas State Police Corporal Jeff Richardson was patrolling northbound I-57 and clocked a southbound pickup traveling 90 mph in a 75 mph zone. Richardson turned around near mile marker 92 and, using rear radar, recorded the same pickup traveling 88 mph before catching up with it just north of mile marker 87, the outlet reports.
Beason then took an exit ramp and failed to stop at the stop sign at Jackson County Road 43, per the same account, before turning left onto the county road and then left again onto the northbound entrance ramp. Once there, he allegedly drove a complete circle around the grassy area separating the ramp from the interstate.
Fled as Trooper Reached the Car Door
Richardson instructed the driver to put the vehicle in park and shut it off, but as the trooper opened his own patrol car door, Beason allegedly spun the pickup's tires and fled northbound on I-57 in the left lane, the report notes. Richardson attempted a Tactical Vehicle Intervention, commonly known as a TVI, but Beason braked and tried to disrupt the maneuver, according to the same account.
Richardson then performed the TVI as the pickup continued northbound, causing it to rotate clockwise before Beason regained control and stopped on the right shoulder, the article notes. He was arrested without further incident. Reynolds Towing of Jackson County towed the pickup, and a hold was placed on the vehicle pending a valid driver's license and proof of ownership, per the same report.
Charges Filed and Statutory Context
Richardson wrote that Beason would be charged with driving on a suspended license, no liability insurance, speeding 1 to 15 mph over the limit, misdemeanor fleeing by vehicle, owner failure to register a vehicle, failure to obey a stop sign, and careless and prohibited driving, according to NEA Report. Court records were not available as of publication.
Driving on a suspended license in Arkansas is described by a private defense attorney's website as a criminal misdemeanor that can carry jail time, fines, and extended suspension periods. Separately, operating a vehicle without required liability insurance carries a mandatory fine of $100 to $250 for a first offense and can trigger court-ordered registration suspension until proof of coverage is shown, per Justia Law.
A 2023 law made fleeing by vehicle a Class D felony in Arkansas, punishable by three to six years.
Part of a Pattern Along the I-57 Corridor
The stretch of highway where Beason was stopped was only recently renamed. The segment through Jackson County was officially redesignated from U.S. Highway 67 to Interstate 57 in late 2024, part of a 110-mile Arkansas section running through North Little Rock and Walnut Ridge.
That same corridor has seen other high-speed pursuits end badly. In June 2026, an Arkansas State Police pursuit along I-57 in Jackson County ended when a black GMC Sierra pickup hit a culvert, went airborne, and collided with a parked tractor-trailer near County Road 82 — a chase that also involved a driver with a suspended license and fictitious tags who fled after an initial stop, according to the NEA Report.
