One Arrested, Three Detained After NW OKC Police Chase

A high-speed police chase through northwest Oklahoma City ended with some help from innocent bystanders Saturday afternoon, after a family's truck put the brakes on a stolen car full of teen boys on NW 26th.

The chase started near I-40 and May and police say the suspect vehicle reached speeds more than 100 mph on I-44 before ending up near NW 26th and Woodward.

“We thought we were going to wreck and we were just bracing ourselves,” says Carlos Diaz, who was sitting in the back seat of his father’s truck. The family was just leaving their home when the black Mazda 6 came barreling around the corner. The Diazes' red truck had backed into the middle of the road, forcing the driver of the car to slam on the brakes.

“It just stopped just in the nick of time to where it just bumped into us,” Diaz recalls. Police flooded the scene moments later. ”It was scary because the cops had their guns drawn.”

Officers detained the three passengers, but Diaz says the driver ran from the car almost as soon as it stopped, not even pausing to put it in park.

“He jumps up through the backyards,” Diaz says, "jumps up into the other street."

Patrol cars and the police helicopter spent the following minutes circling the area, and eventually found the driver of the car nearby.

Despite the shocking encounter, the Diaz family suffered no injuries and now believe they were put in the right place at the right time.

“We were just complaining that my father was being too impatient and waiting in the street, causing a scene,” says Diaz, “and then out of nowhere we happen to stop something big like this.”

Police have not confirmed the ages of the four people in the stolen Mazda, but two of the boys were turned over to their parents at the scene. If the driver and third passenger are minors, they will most likely be sent home with parents if they do not have a significant criminal history. Police say having a violent or lengthy record could be reason to detain a juvenile at the county jail.