Smart ForTwo Outruns US Police, Sort Of

A Smart ForTwo is not a wise getaway vehicle if your route of choice is a US Interstate. The 84mph roller-skate hasn’t got the legs to outrun a Toyota Aygo, let alone the might of state-level police SUVs.

But in a bizarre twist, this silver Smart made a break for it anyway on I-10 towards California after the driver had been clocked in some kind of argument on a WalMart car park. He allegedly ran some red lights on his way to the Interstate, too, so police chased him down and… well, followed him for a bit trying to work out how to end the farce.

Reports suggest that before a news chopper got there, officers had tried to use stingers to bring the car to a halt, and had even tried car-to-car force to stop it, but for whatever reason the officers just didn’t want to commit and make the stop happen. Perhaps they were afraid the overgrown Matchbox toy might fall over and kill its occupant.

Not a great deal happened, though, despite expectations of a calamitous/hilarious live-TV takedown riding high. After the cameras turned away when police called off the chase, further reports suggest officers went back and punted the perky Smart off the highway courtesy of a more committed PIT. Overkill? Quite possibly.