Arizona News Anchors Roast Driver Who Used Smart Car To Flee Cops

"Yeah he picked the wrong car."

April 24, 2020

Screen shot of Smart Car "Chase" [azfamily 3TV CBS 5 Facebook]

Screen shot of Smart Car "Chase" [azfamily 3TV CBS 5 Facebook]

By: Aaron Rasmussen

An Arizona man driving a smart car led police on a chase that was aired on live TV.

While cops tracked the miniature vehicle along Phoenix-area interstates on Wednesday, anchors from KTVK-3TV’s Good Morning Arizona roasted the driver.

“Well, all I can tell that guy is don’t go to California because it’s closed down even more than Arizona,” quipped Scott Pasmore. “You can’t go to the beach; you can’t go to a restaurant. You might as well just turn around and go home.”

Olivia Fierro joked about the vehicle’s similarity to a rubber band-propelled toy, noting, “It looks like one of those cars that you put on the ground and you pull back and then it goes really fast.”

The extended footage is actually worth watching, if you have the time. For those who miss live sports in particular the play-by-play will fill a small part of that enormous void.

The low-speed chase allegedly was sparked after law enforcement received reports of a suspicious person in the parking lot of a Walmart in Gilbert, AZ Family reported.

According to the Gilbert Police Department, Binh Thien Nguyen, 40, was “screaming and yelling” but “refused to speak to officers” when they arrived at the scene.

Nguyen allegedly then got in his car and took off. Police attempted to pull the man over “multiple times” as he ran red lights and fled through metro Phoenix, police said.

An Arizona Department of Public Safety official said troopers finally stopped Nguyen when they deployed spike strips and used a police cruiser to force his car sideways.

The driver was taken into custody and is being held on suspicion of multiple charges, including unlawful flight from law enforcement, DUI, possession of drug paraphernalia and criminal damage, the Associated Press reported.

Nguyen could face additional charges from Gilbert police.

Next Up

Arrests Made In Robberies, Deaths Of Men At NYC Gay Clubs

On March 31, 2023, the New York Police Department identified three suspects in connection to the deaths of 25-year-old Julio Ramirez and 33-year-old John Umberger.

Prolific Serial Killer Nurse Charles Cullen May Have Killed As Many As 400 Patients

The murderer’s 16-year medical career in New Jersey and Pennsylvania ended after he was arrested in 2003.

Pennsylvania Nurse Charged With Murder After Allegedly Killing Patients With Insulin

Heather Pressdee, a 40-year-old nurse from Pennsylvania, was reportedly concerned the patients had a low quality of life and hoped "they would slip into a coma and just pass away.”

Court Exonerates Lamar Johnson’s Murder Conviction After He Served 28 Years In Prison

He says that “though there has been a lot of setbacks and disappointments, in the end, there’s still a lot to be joyful about.”

A Small Tennessee Town Was Rocked by A Friendly-Fire Shooting Thanksgiving Weekend in 2003

A Thanksgiving Weekend drug bust left a Scott County, Tennessee, sheriff’s deputy dead and his family with questions about the bullet that took his life.

An Arizona Man Is Freed From Death Row After 29 Years In Prison

After nearly 29 years on death row, 64-year-old Barry Jones was freed to spend his first Father’s Day with his children in decades.

Arizona Woman Helps Save Herself During Kidnapping By Passing Note To A Stranger

After being kidnapped by a man disguised as an Uber driver, a woman helped save herself by passing a note to a stranger at an Arizona gas station asking them to call 911.

5 Things To Know About Drug Officer Andrew Thornton And The Real Story Of The ‘Cocaine Bear’

The real-life circumstances that inspired the movie 'Cocaine Bear' require just as much suspension of disbelief as the film inspired by these bizarrely true events.

Son Of TikTok Star 'Mama Tot' Was Murdered A Day Before His 19th Birthday

Randon Lee was shot and killed at a gas station in Prichard, Alabama on June 24, 2022 — one day before what would’ve been his 19th birthday.

Arizona Woman Charged After Allegedly Trying To Poison Husband's Coffee

Roby Johnson of the U.S. Air Force helped put his wife in jail after she tried to poison him by putting bleach in his morning coffee for months.