September 19, 2024
WEST MEMPHIS, Ark. — The West Memphis Police Department (WMPD) requested the Arkansas State Police (ASP) Criminal Investigation Division (CID) to investigate an incident that resulted in the death of a highway worker and the serious injury of another during a pursuit on Interstate 55 in West Memphis.
On Wednesday, September 18, 2024, at around 10 p.m., the WMPD stopped a maroon Corvette for a traffic violation on East Broadway in West Memphis. The suspect fled from police at high rate of speed and entered I-55 South, heading into a construction zone near the 3-mile mark.
During WMPD’s pursuit, the suspect vehicle struck two workers contracted by the Arkansas Department of Transportation. The vehicle continued toward Memphis, Tennessee.
The Crittenden County Coroner pronounced Justin Delgado, 36, of Lola, Texas, deceased at the scene. The other injured worker was transported to Regional One Health Hospital in Memphis, where he is in critical condition.
The suspect vehicle was found by the Memphis Police Department in the 200 block of West McKellar Avenue, in Memphis, fully engulfed in flames. The suspect remains at large.
The deceased was transported to the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory, where manner and cause of death will be determined. The investigation is ongoing.
ASP Troopers were not involved in the pursuit.