High speed chase on I-40 leads to alleged human smuggling arrests

CLINTON, Okla. ( KFOR ) — An extreme high-speed chase in western Oklahoma led to a much larger crime in August.

Around 3 p.m. on August 18, Trooper Colby Sander was on duty near the 52-mile marker of I-40.

He noticed a black BMW with an out-of-state license plate traveling at a high speed.

Trooper Sander was driving 130 miles per hour and the BMW was a quarter to half of a mile ahead, weaving in and out of traffic.

The probable cause affidavit reveals that “An occupant in the vehicle later confirmed they were traveling 150 miles per hour.”

The driver of the BMW ended up losing control in the median, striking the sand barrels and a semi truck. The car came to rest around 100 yards east of the area of impact.

An officer who assisted with the chase reported two suspects running from the car and into a heavily wooded area.

Law enforcement set up a perimeter around the area.

While on the perimeter, a 33-year-old woman and a juvenile, who both only spoke Spanish were found at the Clinton Water Zoo. They were brought to a translator at the police station.

This is where the high-speed chase took a turn. They paid the at-large suspects to take them from Mexico to North Carolina.

Instead, they were taken to a house in Phoenix and were held captive for ransom money. The family member wire transferred $4,000, which prompted their cross-country drove and crash in Oklahoma.

Their 20-year-old kidnappers were found later that night, after a city-wide alert was sent out.

Fredy Onan Pavon Lopez and Eddy Alexander Ponce Saravia were booked into the Custer County Jail.

“This typically isn’t the first time that this has probably happened with this group of individuals, so it was good we were able to get involved and put these two suspects behind bars,” said Preston Cox, public information officer for the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.

News 4 asked what happened to the two victims.

“I am unable to disclose that, yeah unfortunately, but I do know that they are being looked after,” said Cox.

The two suspects are due in court both tomorrow and next Friday for arraignment for kidnapping, extortion, eluding police and possession of a stolen vehicle, among other charges.

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