TN man charged with trying to hit girlfriend with car at Paducah truck stop, high-speed chase on I-24

A Tennessee man is facing more than ten charges after Paducah police said he nearly hit his girlfriend with a car in a convenience store parking lot, then caused an accident on I-24 which sent a Metropolis man to the hospital.

Police were called about a hit-and-run Friday afternoon in the parking lot of the Pilot Travel Center. An employee reportedly told officers her car was hit.

Another employee came outside with a woman who said she had gotten into an argument with her boyfriend, 33-year-old Darrell Steele of Mooresburg, TN, in the parking lot and had gotten out of the car. She said she heard the car hit something as it left the parking lot, but didn’t turn around to look.

Police said surveillance video showed the woman walking toward the door of the business, and a man driving a gray Nissan toward her at a high rate of speed. The Nissan hit the parked car and spun it around, nearly hitting the woman. Steele was later revealed to be the driver of the Nissan.

While police were investigating the incident, Paducah 911 received a call about a man in a gray Nissan at another Cairo Road location. The caller said the man was slumped over the steering wheel and the car’s air bags were deployed. As officers started that way, the caller said the man appeared intoxicated, but had left, heading back toward I-24.

When Steele arrived back at the Pilot. An officer pulled in behind the car in an attempt to stop it, but Steele allegedly pulled from the parking lot onto Cairo Road, and accelerated onto the I-24 eastbound on-ramp.

Moments after Steele got onto the interstate, officers said they saw him drive between two vehicles. He hit a pickup truck driven by 50-year-old Robert L. Ogden of Metropolis, causing it to run off the road and roll several times down the embankment, coming to rest against a fence.

Steele also hit a van driven by 61-year-old Robert L. Doyle of Murray.

Steele's vehicle hit the barrier cable, and Steele allegedly jumped out of the car and ran across the westbound lanes of the interstate. An officer chased Steele on foot, catching him as he tried to climb a fence.

In an interview after his arrest, Steele reportedly admitted having consumed numerous alcoholic beverages and smoking marijuana earlier.

Steele's charges include domestic violence, assault, wanton endangerment, fleeing or evading police(motor vehicle and on foot), leaving the scene of an accident, driving under the influence, reckless driving and driving with no operator’s license.

Ogden, the driver of the pickup truck, was extricated from his vehicle by the Paducah Fire Department and taken to Mercy Health Lourdes Hospital for treatment of his injuries.