Handcuffed Man Makes Daring Escape Attempt

Cuffed and on the run, a man's daring escape plays out on camera.

The man managed to make his way from the backseat of a bail bondsman car and speed off.

The bail bondsman had just picked up 30-year-old Nolan Potter in Moore on warrants in two counties. 

But before taking Potter into the McClain County jail, things quickly took a turn.

It all started at the McClain County Courthouse. The bail bondsman pulls up in a Chevrolet Malibu.  

He got out the car for what seems like a matter of seconds, leaving Potter handcuffed in the backseat. 

“He was handcuffed behind his back, he had gone over the back seat, to the front seat, locked the doors,” said Purcell police Sgt. Joseph Santmyer.

The bail bondman noticed the movement, quickly walked over, but realized it's too late.  

Potter drove off going over two concrete parking blocks, grazed a pickup and sped down the road behind the courthouse. 

Still handcuffed, he made his way to Interstate 35 and head northbound toward Norman.

Before police were able to catch up with him using the car's GPS tracking system, Potter found the handcuff key in the center console and took the handcuffs off.

Police finally caught up with him along I-35 at Johnson Road. 

“He gets on to Interstate 35, starts driving down the shoulder, trying to pass cars, he gets bottled up in traffic a little bit,” Santmyer said.

Speeds reached 115 mph before he tries to take an exit. But at 60 mph, the hard U-curve was too much to handle.

“He’s in the inside lane, I’m behind him, we’re 100 plus, and at the last second he decides he’s going to exit. I was kind of prepared for it, I backed off a little bit,” Santmyer said. 

Sgt. Santmyer said Potter went airborne at least 37 feet before crashing into a fence.

“Never have I seen somebody actually drive off with their knees like that. That was probably the most amazing thing I’ve seen in this career so far,” Santmyer said.

Potter faces a number of criminal complaints including motor theft and disorderly conduct.

The high speed chase lasted about 10 minutes.