March 30, 2023 – What should have been a normal traffic stop by a Sulphur Springs Police Officer ended with an officer performing a “pit manuever” to stop the fleeing vehicle after a 40-mile pursuit. It all started at 9:49 a.m. Thursday March 30, 2023 as an SSPD officer attemped to make a traffic stop using sirens and flashing lights at the 125 mile marker on I-30 but the vehicle would not stop. As the vehicle continued Eastbound and down I-30 through Franklin and eventually Titus Counties, any nearby law enforcement joined in the chase. With law enforcement from at least seven different agencies, a DPS officer chose to end the chase by performing a pit manuever which disabled the vehicle at the 164 mile marker.
The suspect still not wanting to give up brandished a weapon and refused to exit the vehicle. After some negotiating, the Cleveland Ohio woman exited the vehicle and was promptly placed under arrest. Joanne Haynes was transported back to Hopkins County and remains in the Hopkins County jail awaiting bond to be set on the charges of Evading Arrest and Unlawful Possession of a Firearm.
The following agencies were involved in the pursuit:
- Texas Department of Public Safety
- Sulphur Springs Police Department
- Hopkins County Sheriffs Office
- Saltillo ISD Police Department
- Franklin County Sheriffs Office
- Mount Vernon Police Department
- Mount Pleasant Police Department