Mustang Police are searching for a motorcyclist accused of driving recklessly and eluding officers on Thursday, putting the public at risk before getting away. The department is now asking anyone with information to come forward as the search continues.
What Police Say Happened
According to KFOR, officials say the rider was “driving dangerously, putting the public at risk” before managing to get away from officers. The outlet reports that police are actively searching for the motorcyclist in connection with the incident, though the rider's identity, the motorcycle's description, and the exact location of the encounter have not been released.
Police have not detailed how the pursuit unfolded or whether officers attempted to stop the rider before the chase began, and no charging information has been made public. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Mustang Police Department's Traffic Division at 405-376-2488, per the same report.
Oklahoma law makes eluding a peace officer a misdemeanor when a driver willfully tries to evade a marked police vehicle after receiving a visual and audible signal to stop. The offense can become a Class C1 felony if the driver endangers another person; causing an accident with great bodily injury can also bring a felony charge. Those are statutory possibilities, not charges announced in the Mustang case, where police have not publicly identified a suspect or disclosed charging information. Oklahoma’s eluding statute sets out those distinctions.
A Pattern Across the Metro
Reckless motorcyclists evading police have become a recurring headache for Oklahoma departments in recent months. In Edmond, police said a motorcyclist swerved through traffic at an estimated speed “well over 100 miles per hour,” but officers told News 9 they declined to give chase “based on the traffic,” and the rider got away. A similar calculation played out in Oklahoma City, where, as okcfox.com reported, an officer broke off pursuit of a fleeing motorcyclist after the rider drove into oncoming traffic, citing “oncoming traffic and danger to the public.” That rider, Nickolas Kelley, was later arrested and charged with eluding a police officer, reckless driving and several other traffic offenses.
Not every case ends without an arrest. Broken Arrow police say Hunter Taylor spent roughly a week taunting officers and speeding away on his motorcycle before he was finally caught, and prosecutors there charged him with 14 crimes including eluding and reckless driving, according to NewsOn6. And in late October, a pursuit that began in Sayre and stretched into Harmon County ended after about 31 minutes, with deputies reporting speeds as high as 120 mph, Hoodline previously reported.
The danger posed by high-speed pursuits extends beyond any one metro-area incident. A study of fatal police-pursuit crashes nationwide from 2009 through 2023 counted 6,352 deaths—an average of 423 a year—and found that, after accounting for other factors, fatalities increased by 2% annually. More than half of fatal crashes occurred in urban areas, and speeding was documented in 77%. The national figures do not establish what happened in Mustang, but they show why fleeing drivers and pursuit decisions can carry consequences for the wider public. The study’s findings detail that broader risk.
It remains unclear whether the Mustang rider has been identified or taken into custody since Thursday's incident. The Mustang Police Department has not released further updates, and anyone with information that could help investigators is urged to call the Traffic Division.
