Two men and a woman are being questioned this afternoon after the three led officers on a high-speed chase that began in Atoka, Tennessee and ended just south of Millington when the suspects’ car crashed into two other vehicles. No one was seriously hurt.

The chase began just before eleven o’clock this morning in Tipton County. An officer with the Atoka Police Department attempted to stop the suspects’ vehicle along Highway 51 on a traffic charge.  Atoka Police had also received information one of the suspects might be armed and have drugs in the vehicle.

The suspects refused to stop for the Atoka officer and sped away.  Other Tipton County police agencies including the Munford and Mason Police Departments joined in the pursuit as the vehicle traveled south along Highway 51. 

As the suspects’ vehicle entered Millington, the Atoka, Munford and Mason officers called off their pursuit.  Millington Police officers then picked up the pursuit but only for a short time.  Officers said the suspects’ vehicle was speeding and creating hazards for other drivers in the busy lunch-hour traffic.

Several minutes later, after officers had stopped the pursuit, the suspects’ car entered the intersection of Highway 51 and Fite where it collided with a pick up truck and another car.  The drivers of the other two vehicles were not hurt.

Shelby County Deputies were near the intersection and responded to the traffic crash.  Deputies took two of the passengers in the suspects’ car, a man and a woman, into custody.

The man driving the car ran from the crash scene and was later captured in a wooded area about ¾ of a mile away.  The man had been spotted by a Memphis Police Department helicopter which had been called in to help.

Shelby County Deputy Sheriffs Steve Whitlock and Troy Simmons, along with Simmons’ department dog, “Dodger,” tracked the suspect through the woods and found the man hiding in a ravine.

After repeated attempts to get the man to surrender, “Dodger” bit the suspect on the arm and leg.  After searching the suspects’ vehicle, no weapons or drugs were found. 

All three suspects were taken to the Regional Medical Center with non life- threatening injuries.

Several police agencies and the Tennessee Highway Patrol are continuing the investigation about the events that led to the pursuit and the traffic crash. 

Charges are pending by the Atoka Police Department.