A man hit an officer with his truck when he sped away from a traffic stop over a road rage incident.
Herbert Barry Clark was arrested the evening of December 23. He escaped officers' pursuit after the traffic stop but was later taken into custody.
The incident reportedly began around noon that day when police received a road rage complaint about Clark following a car, with a family of five inside, from the Paris Landing Bridge all the way to Clarksville.
Clark was reportedly behind their car flashing his headlights and making hand gestures for them to pull over, but the family was in fear for their safety.
"He was riding on the bumper of our car. He cut other people off in traffic to try to follow us. If we got into another lane he would follow us," said the victim.
During the 911 call, the family made a plan to meet officers at the intersection of Woodale Drive and Lafayette Road with Clark’s vehicle still behind them.
Officers tried to have him get out of his truck and told him to put the truck in park, but instead of complying, he put it in drive and accelerated, spinning the wheels uncontrollably and hit the family’s vehicle.
He then placed the pickup in reverse, smashing into a patrol car and knocking an officer to the ground.
"We broke his window and unlocked the door to try to get him out of the vehicle but he wasn't having that. He put it in reverse and smashed my car and knocked me over," said Officer Renee Chouinard, Clarksville Police Department.
Officials said the officer would have most likely been run over if it had not been for the placement of the patrol cars at the scene. Clark then fled from the scene.
"When he did that, that was probably the scariest part because he put his truck back in drive. We thought he was going to hit our car again," said the victim.
The police pursued the pickup, but called off the pursuit due to Clark’s reckless driving endangering the public. Clark was arrested later in the day by Paris Sheriff’s Office and charged with DUI and evading police.
After being released, 63-year-old Clark was brought back to Clarksville and booked into Montgomery County Jail for aggravated assault, reckless driving,evading,resisting arrest,duty to give information/render aid and leaving the scene of an injury accident.
His bond was set for $50,000.
