One Shot Stop!

[TheeBadOne]

It started near Cave Springs when undercover investigators from Benton County pulled over a driver they believed was wanted in Oklahoma.

When officers approached his truck, the man took off, starting a high speed chase which reached speeds faster than 100 miles an hour. It also resulted in an Arkansas State Trooper flipping her car over during the pursuit.

"I proceeded on Highway 20 east of Jay to set up a roadblock. I set it up by myself..." Delaware County Sheriff Lendon Woodruff knew who was in this truck and that it had already run a number of roadblocks.

He also knew a crowded school was letting out only miles down the road and if he didn't do something, some of the kids might get hurt.

"I stepped out, hand up, to stop. They were proceeding as other officers had advised at 102 miles per hour. That's when I fired at their gas tank."

One shot from the sheriff's .44 magnum struck the fleeing truck. Three miles later, the gas tank went dry and two men were in custody.

At one point in the pursuit, Arkansas State Trooper Lori Lawson lost control and rolled her unit.

Captain Les Braunns of the Arkansas State Police says,"She is okay. Injured her leg and I think she got a cut on her left hand. We're going to sort that out later."

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I wonder if anyone tracks OSS of motor vehicles?
I suspect the rifles do much better in this category than any handgun.

 

[keyhole]

I'd say it was a lucky shot. But those are the best kind

 

[Frohickey]

Too bad he didn't have a 44Mag tracer round instead.

 

[Ryder]

Hahahha, Frohickey!

reached speeds faster than 100 miles an hour

They'll do that. I accidentally got between a state cop and a speeder last night on the way to work. No lights or siren just as the sun was going down. Surprised the crap out of me!

 

[DigMe]

A few years ago I was watching a show about bounty hunters on discovery or TLC or something. There was one bounty that saw the guys coming down the road and tried to flee across a field on a motorcycle. The bounty hunter calmly stepped out, pulled out a scoped rifle and shot the speeding motorcycle right in the engine and killed it. The BG gave up at that point.

brad cook

 

[DigMe]

BTW, I'm sure Marshall and Sanow immediately logged this in their "One shot stop of cars" file.

brad cook

 

[Dave P]

One shot from the sheriff's .44 magnum struck the fleeing truck. Three miles later, the gas tank went dry and two men were in custody.



This is a joke, right? I mean, everybody knows that when you shoot a car, especially in the gas tank, it immediately converts to a large flaming roman candle!

 

[Double Maduro]

What remarkable eyesight to be able to see the gas tank through all that sheet metal and hit it when the vehicle was going 102 mph.

Notice that the article doesn't say that the shot hit the gas tank? It only says the shot hit the truck and 3 miles later the gas tank went dry.

I would chalk it up to luck. Good luck for us and the kids getting out of school, wouldn't someone from the cops call the school and tell them to keep the kids inside?.

Bad luck for the BG's. Or maybe good luck for them too, they are still alive.

DM

 

[foghornl]

If the fleeing person (car) is coming toward you, a load of #4 Buck in the radiator works pretty good, too.

 

[standingbear]

44 magnum...

 

[Parker Dean]

Not that I've paid particular attention but the fuel tanks I've seen in light pickups are pretty much covered by the frame. Sure, there's a small amount of exposed tank top and bottom but for the most part it's behind the frame.

Has anyone shot a light truck frame with a 44 mag? I don't know that it could penetrate. Remember the frame is steel, instead of the much more brittle cast iron of the proverbial engine block. Plus, it's fairly ductile steel, just think of the frame twist on these 3/4 ton crew-cab long-beds going over bumps.

Anyway, my point is that if the cartridge can't penetrate the frame the area of exposed tank is so small as to be a "shot of the year", at least, if he did hit it.

 

[Matt G]

My guess is that he took a percentage shot at the rear tires, between which sits the gas tank. From very close, the angle could be high enough to hit the tank without hitting the frame, and would only have to go through the sheet metal. A .44 Mag won't touch a frame rail, but it's mighty good medicine for the sheet metal body panels.

A higher percentage shot that didn't involve killing the driver would have been a load of buckshot to each near side tire. (Yes, I know a load to the radiator would have worked well, but those 00 pellets do have a way of sneaking their way around, and might hit the driver. Why create a situation where you have to explain your justification for killing the driver, if you can help it?)