An Eastern Kentucky man was arrested Thursday morning after waving a machete out of the car window at police during a during a traffic stop

The Laurel County Sheriff’s Office was conducting a traffic safety checkpoint on East KY 80 at Blackwater Road when a white Chevy Tahoe stopped before the checkpoint and pulled into a driveway.

When police officers approached the vehicle, it fled through the yard around the residence as the driver waved a machete out the window at police. 

When the vehicle fled into Clay County on KY 80, the driver noticed a Clay County Sheriff’s cruiser and attempted to strike it head on. The cruiser veered off the road to avoid being hit and stuck a culvert.

The suspect turned back onto Hal Rogers Parkway when they reached Manchester. After hitting 5 vehicles  as it veered into the opposing lane on Hal Rogers Parkway, the vehicle was finally stopped when Kentucky State Police used spike strips and the driver lost control of the vehicle into a field.

After a pursuit on foot and struggling with police, 55 year old Gary Dean Smith of London was arrested and charged with three counts of wanton endangerment, two counts of fleeing or evading police, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. He has also been charged with attempted murder of a police officer along with other criminal and traffic charges. Smith was transported to the hospital for injuries and then placed in the Laurel County Correctional Center

 

Image courtesy of Laurel County Sheriff’s Office