Arkansas chase ends in rollover after trooper stops mother, child escapes wreck

The chase ended in a field near Joiner with a toddler climbing out of the wrecked car, forcing a hard look at how far police should go when a fleeing driver is also carrying a child.

Arkansas State Police said 23-year-old Thalia Jones was driving a Dodge Charger about 80 mph in a 55 mph zone on Highway 118 in Mississippi County around 2:30 p.m. on March 2, 2026, when she refused to stop for a trooper. Troopers said Jones then swerved into an oncoming lane, and the trooper used a PIT maneuver to bring the chase to an abrupt end.

The maneuver sent the Charger over a sign and a mailbox before it flipped into a field. Video released by Arkansas State Police shows Jones’ 3-year-old son climbing out of the overturned car moments later. State police said neither Jones nor the child appeared to be injured, and EMS cleared both at the scene.

The case puts a spotlight on a central tension in pursuit policy: the need to stop a driver whose conduct is already creating danger on the road, and the added obligation to account for a child inside the car. Jones is now facing charges including reckless driving, fleeing, endangering the welfare of a minor in the first degree, driving on a suspended license, and unauthorized use of another person’s property to facilitate a crime. Police said the car belonged to Jones’ boyfriend.

Arkansas State Police said the incident was reported to the Child Abuse Hotline, underscoring how a traffic chase can quickly become a child-safety case as well as a criminal one. The video shows the immediate consequence of the decision: a speeding Dodge Charger brought to a stop only after it crossed into oncoming traffic and rolled, leaving a 3-year-old to crawl from the wreckage in rural Mississippi County.