Oct. 26--Authorities said an Oklahoma man stole a car, crashed it and took off on foot Wednesday just after he was released from state prison.
Gerry Westmoreland, 41, of Marietta was arrested Wednesday under suspicion of knowingly concealing stolen property, eluding an officer and giving false information, Sequoyah County Sheriff Ron Lockhart said.
The LeFlore County Sheriff's Department called Sequoyah County deputies and said a vehicle was stolen between Spiro and Pocola. The activated OnStar system had it tracked moving toward Sallisaw, Lockhart said.
A deputy caught up with the vehicle going west on Interstate 40 near Vian. The deputy turned on his patrol car's emergency lights and the driver veered off the road, over a ditch and crashed into a tree, Lockhart said.
The suspect took off on foot. Another deputy found him 45 minutes later lying in a ditch about a half of a mile away from the crash, Lockhart said.
Westmoreland was on parole and was released from the Arkansas Department of Correction in Malvern on Tuesday, Lockhart said.
"It looks like he rode a bus from his prison in Malvern, Ark., to Fort Smith and wasn't out over 48 hours, and he's going back," Lockhart said.
Westmoreland allegedly gave deputies a false name at first and was taken to the Sequoyah County Detention Center, Lockhart said.
No injuries were reported as a result of the accident, an Oklahoma Highway Patrol dispatch official said.
Copyright 2012 - Times Record, Fort Smith, Ark.
