Arizona News Anchors Roast Driver Who Used Smart Car To Flee Cops

"Yeah he picked the wrong car."

April 24, 2020

Screen shot of Smart Car "Chase" [azfamily 3TV CBS 5 Facebook]

Screen shot of Smart Car "Chase" [azfamily 3TV CBS 5 Facebook]

By: Aaron Rasmussen

An Arizona man driving a smart car led police on a chase that was aired on live TV.

While cops tracked the miniature vehicle along Phoenix-area interstates on Wednesday, anchors from KTVK-3TV’s Good Morning Arizona roasted the driver.

“Well, all I can tell that guy is don’t go to California because it’s closed down even more than Arizona,” quipped Scott Pasmore. “You can’t go to the beach; you can’t go to a restaurant. You might as well just turn around and go home.”

Olivia Fierro joked about the vehicle’s similarity to a rubber band-propelled toy, noting, “It looks like one of those cars that you put on the ground and you pull back and then it goes really fast.”

The extended footage is actually worth watching, if you have the time. For those who miss live sports in particular the play-by-play will fill a small part of that enormous void.

The low-speed chase allegedly was sparked after law enforcement received reports of a suspicious person in the parking lot of a Walmart in Gilbert, AZ Family reported.

According to the Gilbert Police Department, Binh Thien Nguyen, 40, was “screaming and yelling” but “refused to speak to officers” when they arrived at the scene.

Nguyen allegedly then got in his car and took off. Police attempted to pull the man over “multiple times” as he ran red lights and fled through metro Phoenix, police said.

An Arizona Department of Public Safety official said troopers finally stopped Nguyen when they deployed spike strips and used a police cruiser to force his car sideways.

The driver was taken into custody and is being held on suspicion of multiple charges, including unlawful flight from law enforcement, DUI, possession of drug paraphernalia and criminal damage, the Associated Press reported.

Nguyen could face additional charges from Gilbert police.

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