And here we see a criminal in his natural element: behind the wheel of a Hellcat…
Dramatic video caught by a bystander shows the moment when a St. Tammy Parish deputy was struck by a man fleeing in a Dodge Challenger Hellcat. This incident further reinforces the image of modern Mopar muscle cars being the vehicle of choice for criminals across North America, particularly Hellcats. After all, they’re capable of outrunning the cops and apparently running them down.
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St. Tammy Parish Sheriff’s Office says the incident started about 1 pm on March 12 when a deputy spotted the Hellcat with no license plates driving on Louisiana Highway 36 near Covington. That deputy attempted to pull over the muscle car, but the drive, 24-year-old Kody McElveen, decided to make a run for it instead of complying.
They say you might be able to outrun a police cruiser but you can’t outrun their Motorola, but McElveen did his best to prove that wrong. As the chase progressed onto U.S. Highway 190 near Claiborne Hill then onto interstate 12, Covington Police jumped in to assist.
As you can see in the video, a deputy deployed a spike strip near the Louisiana Highway 21 exit to at least slow down if not stop the Mopar. However, McElveen saw it coming, swerving to miss the tire-puncturing spikes. In the process the hit the deputy with the corner of the front bumper. We have no idea if he was trying to hit the deputy, but he didn’t skip a beat after he did.
Thankfully, the deputy was thrown clear of the Hellcat instead of getting caught under the wheels or being thrown onto the muscle car. You can see him get up after McElveen drives off and the Sheriff’s Office says he only suffered minor injuries.
McElveen was able to get off the highway and parked the very distinct Dodge Challenger Hellcat with those flashy graphics in a grocery store parking lot. He apparently was inside, we assume grabbing some ingredients for dinner. As he left the store he noticed deputies waiting to arrest him so he made a run for it on foot. The guy should’ve worked on his cardio more because he was taken down in the parking lot.
Deputies found he was packing heat, which he thankfully didn’t try to use. After he ran down a deputy it would seem he wasn’t beyond hurting any member of law enforcement. Now McElveen is facing a string of charges, including attempted murder of a police officer, aggravated assault with a motor vehicle upon a peace officer, reckless operation, aggravated flight from an officer, and six counts of failure to stop or yield.
The lesson here is that running from the cops is stupid, even if you know you’re going to face some stiff consequences, because fleeing will make it even worse. Also, not all Hellcats are driven by criminals, but they sure do seem to love the things.
Source: 4WWL
