A Longview man who led a state trooper on a brief high-speed chase in the Union Grove area Monday morning wrecked his pickup, fled into the woods, and was arrested hours later in Longview, the trooper said.

Timothy George Pliler, 30, faces multiple charges in Upshur County stemming from the incident, but was lodged in Gregg County Jail in Longview on prior and new charges in that county, said the officer involved, Texas Department of Public Safety Cpl. Jody Hammond.

The chase, in which the fleeing pickup ran four stop signs, reached a speed of more than 80 miles per hour, and “there were several opportunities where someone could have been killed,” Hammond said Tuesday. Nobody was injured, and a camera in Hammond’s patrol car videotaped the incident, he said.

The pursuit ended near the Union Grove School, which was alerted by authorities, and The Mirror has learned that Gladewater Middle School was placed in lockdown. Hammond said the pickup driver ran away in an area which is no more than a half mile through the woods from Union Grove Junior-Senior High School.

The trooper said the 4-minute chase started on N. White Oak Road at 10:33 a.m. when he attempted to stop a 1990 Ford Ranger pickup for tailgating another vehicle.

Hammond gave this account of ensuing events:

While going up a “blind hill,” the truck driver passed the car he was following and “sped away—increased his speed.” The truck ran a stop sign and turned right onto Point Pleasant Road.

The pickup then crossed FM Road 1844 at high speed, running another stop sign, traveled west, and crossed U.S. 271 “at 80-plus miles an hour,” running yet another stop sign.

The truck then crossed U.S. 271 onto Willow Oak Road, traveling west and running a fourth stop sign at the intersection of Union Grove Road. The vehicle then traveled down Willow Oak about two miles and ran off the roadway’s right sideÊin a left curve.

Although the pickup struck a small tree, it was still operable, but was stuck in a ditch. The driver bailed out and fled into the wooded area.

A tracking dog arrived, and seven officers other than Hammond searched for the driver. They included officers from the DPS, East Mountain Police Department, Upshur County Sheriff’s Office, and Pct. 1 Constable Russell Harris.

Hammond stayed with the wrecked vehicle, obtained some information, and identified the suspect. In the meantime, the man got to a friend’s home in Gladewater and got a ride to the suspect’s home in Longview.

When Hammond pulled into the suspect’s driveway on Fairway St. about 1:40 p.m., the man ran out the back door. Hammond contacted Longview police, who found Pliler about one half block away on Fairway and found marijuana on him. (No drugs were found in the wrecked truck.)

Pliler had two outstanding warrants for evading arrest and his driver’s license was suspended, said Hammond. The suspect was charged in Upshur County with evading arrest, which is a felony, and with two misdemeanors—following too close and driving with license suspended, the officer said.

Pliler was jailed on the already-outstanding charges, as well as new misdemeanor charges of fleeing on foot and possession of marijuana, the trooper said. If the suspect makes bond on the Gregg County charges, he would be brought to Upshur County to face charges resulting from the chase, said Hammond.

A check of Gregg County online criminal records showed Pliler has been charged with numerous past offenses, including theft.