Naked woman leads Arkansas police on chase, gets tackled by officer

LITTLE ROCK — A woman in a stolen truck led police on a chase in northwest Arkansas that ended when she got out of the truck naked and was tackled by an officer.

A caller told the Lamar Police Department that a white pickup truck carrying “several loaded guns” and pulling a loaded trailer was stolen around 4:15 p.m. on March 25, according to a police report. Less than 10 minutes later, an Arkansas State Police trooper found the truck traveling west on Interstate 40 near mile marker 57.

The driver, later identified as 48-year-old Deidra Lewis, refused to pull over, according to the report. She began a pursuit with multiple police agencies for about 10 miles. Police said Lewis tried to shake off the items on the back of the trailer, leaving cargo on the road.

A Coal Hill officer was able to set up a tire-puncturing spike strip near mile marker 47. Dashcam footage from a state police vehicle shows the truck’s front driver’s side tire was blown out and Lewis was forced to pull over. The video shows her quickly getting out of the driver’s side of the truck wearing only a jacket and what appears to be a shirt on her head. She takes the jacket off as she walks toward officers. An officer with a large gun then appears in front of the police vehicle and tackles her.

Police said Lewis taken to the Johnson County jail, where she was still being held on Tuesday.

Lewis faces charges of aggravated assault, theft of a motor vehicle, criminal trespassing, reckless driving, disorderly conduct and fleeing. She’s set to appear in court May 13.