Driver Leads OHP On High Speed Chase On Turner Turnpike

The Oklahoma Highway Patrol arrested a man they say shot a homeowner in Payne County Friday morning before leading troopers on a cross-county chase.

Troopers said they spotted 21-year-old Nicholas McCarty's red pickup headed east on Highway 33 and started chasing him, but he would not stop. You can see by the damage on a turnpike guardrail west of Sapulpa it was not an easy task to get him to stop.

The OHP said McCarty led troopers from Highway 33 to the Turner Turnpike, where he got on, heading east towards Tulsa. He then exited at Sapulpa, got back on the turnpike heading west.

Trooper Dwight Durant said, "It's going eastbound, we turn around on it, we light it up, he doesn't stop and the pursuit's on."

Troopers eventually stopped the truck just west of Kellyville.

11/25/2015 Related Story: OHP Chases Burglary Suspect Accused Of Shooting Cushing Homeowner

The OHP said it used a PIT maneuver, also called a precision immobilization technique. Basically, the officer can force the suspect to turn sideways, causing him to lose control and stop.

It's something law enforcement officials train for routinely, but Durant said it was still nerve-racking.

“You have that thought in your head, you have images of things that could go bad, we're human, we could hurt, and we're aware of it and it scares us, but we got a job to do and fortunately today nobody was hurt," he said.

They said McCarty got out of his car with his arms up and cooperated with troopers. He had a few bruises and scrapes on him and got checked out by medical personnel before he was taken into custody, according to the OHP.

"When you're doing those, you know what you're doing. You're trained for those. But you have that thought in your head, you have images that could go bad. We're human, we could hurt, and we're aware of it. And it scares us, but we got a job to do and fortunately today nobody was hurt," Durant said.

Court documents show it’s not McCarty's first run-in with the law; in August he pleaded guilty to stealing a car and possessing marijuana.

He faces 16 charges in Creek County alone, including possession of meth, marijuana, stolen vehicle and assault with a deadly weapon.