Suspected Killer Crashes During High Speed Chase

By Jeffrey Smith, The News On 6

ADAIR, OK -- A suspect in a Seminole County murder leads police on a high speed chase.  A dozen officers were pursuing 28-year-old Stoney Ward along Highway 69 for almost a half-hour on Friday.

Many of the officers involved in the pursuit say they didn't know why they were chasing Ward.  They just knew he refused to stop for police.  They later learned he was wanted for killing his girlfriend after a fight.  Friday was not the first time Ward led police on a dangerous chase.

The 20 mile chase drew officers from Mayes County and from the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.  Troopers say the chase reached up to 110 miles per hour.

Seminole police say it all began Thursday night. That's when they say Ward shot and killed his girlfriend, 42-year-old Regina Bounds.

On Friday morning, an OHP trooper spotted Ward's car near Chouteau.  Instead of pulling over, Ward tried to run.

"Always dangerous, these pursuits always dangerous. We didn't know exactly what we were chasing the suspect for.  We didn't know who he was. But, the suspect did intentionally refuse to stop for police, and that puts everyone around us in danger," said Oklahoma Highway Patrol Lt. George Brown.

Troopers say the chase lasted 23 minutes.

"The suspect did evade several attempts to stop him.  There were stop sticks deployed. The vehicle ended up intentionally avoiding a set of stop sticks behind me here and running off the roadway to the right," said Oklahoma Highway Patrol Lt. George Brown.

Records show Ward stole a truck and led officers on a 53 mile pursuit just 12 months ago.  That chase ended an hour west of Tulsa.

This time, Ward crashed into a highway guardrail going 100 miles an hour.  Officers say Ward stabbed himself twice in the chest with a pocketknife before they arrested him.  He was flown to a Tulsa hospital in critical condition.

Ward struck at least two other cars during the highway chase, but there were no injuries to any other drivers.