HENDERSON, WV (LOOTPRESS) – A Lincoln County man faces charges after having led police on a high-speed chase with his ex-wife and two young children present inside the vehicle before allowing it to crash into a wooded area.
Trooper A. A. Toler of the West Virginia State Police reports that, while conducting patrols on Sunday, August 27, 2023, a black Ford Explorer was observed traveling northbound on Rt. 817. The driver, who appeared to be a white male, reportedly extended his hand while passing the Trooper in what is believed to have been an attempt to obscure his face and identity.
Trooper Toler and Trooper Weis began to follow the vehicle while attempting to run its registration, eventually identifying the vehicle as a 2003 Ford Explorer registered to Faith Adkins of Yawkey, WV. During this process, the vehicle was followed from Rt. 817 to Interstate 64, westbound.
After observing the vehicle cross over the fog line several times, the officers attempted to initiate a traffic stop between I-64 and the on ramp of US Route 35. The vehicle then slowed down to approximately 30-40 miles per hour before quickly pulling back onto I-64 and accelerating on the on ramp to northbound US-35.
A pursuit then ensued with both vehicles maintaining speeds of roughly 90 to 100 miles per hour but at times reaching speeds of up to 115 miles per hour. The driver recklessly passed several other vehicles and threw objects from the window which caused damage to pursuing police vehicle.
Approaching 3-mile road, the driver turned into the entrance of a cow pasture field, destroying the pasture fence in the process before crashing shortly thereafter. Pursuing officers approached the vehicle to discover a female and two young juveniles with no one operating the vehicle.
The female was identified as Faith Adkins of Yawkey, WV and the juveniles were identified as her sons, ages 2 and 4, respectively. Adkins identified the driver of the vehicle as her ex-husband, Arton Adkins, and stated that he had jumped out of the moving vehicle in order to evade capture.
Officers tracked Adkins for several hours with assistance from a K-9 unit, eventually locating and detaining the driver near 3-mile road. 6.68 grams of methamphetamine were discovered on Adkins’ person during detainment, and he was transported to Western Regional Jail following medical clearance.
The Mason County Sheriff’s Office reports that the children present inside the vehicle at the time of the crash were uninjured as a result of the incident.
