JUVENILES APPREHENDED IN HUNTINGTON – Four juveniles who fled from the Natchez Trace Youth Academy were arrested in Huntingdon after high speed pursuit and crash on Jan. 15. Photo by Raven Trevathan
Four juveniles who fled the Natchez Trace Youth Academy in Waverly on Jan. 15 at 7:55 p.m. after assaulting an employee with the vehicle they stole were apprehended in Huntingdon between 9 and 10 p.m.after crashing on the Court Square.
The four, Daniel Simon, Hy Nguyen, William Gauldin and Andrew Green led Huntingdon officers on a high speed chase with speeds exceeding 100 miles an hour at some points around town.
After traveling through various streets and the bypass in a downpour of rain and nearly causing multiple wrecks, Gauldin, the driver of the the white Ford F-150 XF two door truck, lost control of the vehicle and crashed head-on into the Colorworks Salon and Nail Studio causing significant damage to the building.
Following the crash, Gauldin, Simon and Green ran on foot behind the building. During the foot chase, Huntingdon officer Ethan Parham commanded multiple times for the three to stop running and show their hands.At one point, Gauldin turned toward Parham while running. However, Parham still could not see his hands and knowing that Gauldin had physically assaulted the employee in Waverly and put countless lives in danger during the pursuit, he deployed his taser, hitting Gauldin in his left arm. Following a brief struggle, Gauldin was placed in handcuffs. In the meantime, two Tenn. Dept. of Correction officers assisted in taking Simon and Green into custody. Police officer Sgt. Aaron Patton apprehended Nguyen near the crash site that was investigated by the Tenn. Highway Patrol.
The juveniles were medically cleared by Emergency Medical Service personnel and transported to the Humphreys County Sheriff’s Office.
When the escape occurred, a police Bolo was send to law enforcement in surrounding counties from the Humphrey’s County Sheriff’s Office to be on the lookout for the stolen truck occupied by the four juveniles.
At 9:04 p.m.Parham observed the truck traveling the wrong way on West Paris’ one way street. The vehicle failed to stop when Parham activated his blue lights and siren, and continued accelerating at a high rate of speed onto Clark St. The truck turned onto various secondary streets in neighborhoods running multiple 4-way stops with no regard to traffic laws and public safety.
Parham’s report said the pursuit ultimately left the residential neighborhoods and continued onto East Main Street. During this time, East Main was highly congested with vehicles.Yet the vehicle accelerated to speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour while swerving in and out of all lanes narrowly avoiding multiple vehicle collisions.
The truck exited East Main St. and took the off ramp onto the bypass and at one point went off the road . Upon entering onto the bypass, the vehicle turned into oncoming traffic and traveled on the wrong side of the road. The truck ran the 4-way stop at Buena Vista Road and the bypass, accelerating down Buena Vista Road, again at speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour. The vehicle then ran the stop sign entering East Main St., continuing at high rates of speed, swerving through all lanes of travel and almost causing multiple multiple vehicle collisions before crashing at Colorworks.
