Car Crashes Into Plane During Wild Grand Theft Auto-Style Police Chase
Authorities pursued a vehicle connected to an illegal street racing group, leading to a dramatic conclusion at Scottsdale Airport.
A high-speed police chase that drew comparisons to the video game Grand Theft Auto concluded with a vehicle crashing into an airplane at Scottsdale Airport.
Officers with the Phoenix Police Department initiated a pursuit of a car linked to an illegal street racing group around 11 p.m. on Saturday. The driver failed to stop for authorities, who then utilized a helicopter to track the vehicle as it entered Scottsdale.
According to reports, the car came to a halt at a locked security gate at the airport. When officers moved to corner the vehicle, the driver reversed into a police car before accelerating through another gate and onto the tarmac.
The chase ended when the car collided with a plane inside a private hangar. Following the crash, a man and a woman, identified as Michael Gregory Wall, 24, and Liberty Dawn Still, 33, exited the vehicle and fled toward the tarmac. Wall was taken into custody after resisting arrest and being tased by officers.
Both individuals were subsequently arrested and booked on multiple felony charges. The FBI is also involved in the investigation due to the trespass onto airport grounds. Sergeant Chris Berrelleza of the Phoenix Police Department stated that detectives successfully attached a GPS tracking device to the vehicle, allowing them to monitor its movements.
An air traffic control recording captured a warning issued to pilots, stating, "It appears to be a police helicopter orbiting right over Scott's airport; there's a police chase that ended up on the airfield."
Despite the dramatic events, airport operations were not disrupted. Phoenix Police confirmed that two individuals were in custody following the incident, which involved the suspect vehicle ramming through a gate, driving onto the tarmac, and ultimately crashing into a plane within a hangar, causing damage to both the aircraft and the hangar.
Scottsdale officers assisted by securing the airport and documenting the damage to the gate, hangar, and plane.