An Arkansas motorcyclist was engulfed in a “fireball” and is recuperating in the hospital after a state trooper deployed a Taser and it hit a gallon of gasoline in his backpack, authorities said.
Christopher Gaylor, 38, was struck by the Taser after setting Arkansas troopers on a police chase after him in the early hours of Oct. 13 in Little Rock, state police said in a news release.
The chase started when Gaylor was spotted riding a motorcycle with no license plate around 1:20 a.m. along Asher Avenue in Little Rock.
A trooper tried to initiate a traffic stop, but Gaylor “refused to comply” and kept on driving, reaching speeds approaching 100 mph and ignoring traffic stop signs and lights along the way, state police said.
Authorities said police later learned that Gaylor was wanted by law enforcement on outstanding warrants, according to the release.
Gaylor eventually made his way toward Interstate 30 and jumped from the motorcycle at a residence along Chandler Street in North Little Rock and fled on foot with troopers following behind.
One trooper then deployed his Taser to stop Gaylor.
But as the barbs of the Taser struck the suspect, “a fireball engulfed Gaylor.”
The investigation revealed Gaylor was carrying one gallon of gasoline in his backpack, which was the accelerant that caused the fire.
Troopers extinguished the fire and provided medical assistance while awaiting an ambulance.
Police said that Gaylor remains hospitalized and is expected to recuperate.
He faces charges of felony fleeing, failure to register a vehicle, no liability insurance, driving with a suspended license and reckless driving.
It was not immediately clear if Gaylor had a lawyer.
State police said that no internal investigation into the police response is underway and no employees involved in the incident have been placed on leave.
“Before the electronic control device (TASER) was deployed, Mr. Gaylor could have chosen at any moment during the vehicular pursuit, or in the seconds after he abandoned the motorcycle to comply with the traffic stop or orders to stop while on foot,” Arkansas State Police public information officer Bill Sadler said.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
