NEW ORLEANS — Court records obtained by WWL-TV shed new light on the violent crash caught on camera in New Orleans East.
According to police records, the blue SUV seen running a red light and crashing into multiple cars at the corner of Chef Menteur Highway and Downman Road on Tuesday was used in an armed carjacking the day before.
Police spotted the SUV in the parking lot of the Roadway Inn on Chef Menteur Highway around 2:30 p.m. According to the report, they followed it down Chef Menteur Highway before turning on their lights and attempting “to initiate a vehicle pursuit.”
Surveillance video shows the blue SUV and marked NOPD unit go between lanes, splitting traffic before the SUV’s driver runs a red light and crashes.
Now, it’s up to the NOPD’s Public Integrity Bureau to determine if there was an actual police chase before that crash and – if so – if that chase caused the crash.
“Right now, it’s under investigation as to whether or not it was actually a pursuit or not,” NOPD Superintendent said. “We’re still in the beginning stages of this and it’s being conducted by our force investigation team.”
According to the federal consent decree, officers must get permission from dispatch before they can start a car chase.
What police are currently calling a “possible chase” only went for about one mile, from where NOPD spotted the vehicle to where the crash occurred.
Police arrested 24-year-old Antonio Miller, a Slidell resident, at the scene of the crash. He’s charged with theft of a motor vehicle, possession of stolen property and flight from an officer.
According to the police report, Miller confessed to stealing the car, saying that he found it running and then “jumped in and left.”
That same SUV has been connected to an unarmed carjacking on June 13 in Mid-City at the corner of Banks Street and S. Murat Street.
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