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Police Officer Tells an Insane Corvette Speed Chase Story, Reminiscent of Dukes of Hazzard

Cops aren't the easiest of people to get a sit-down with, but they have some of the most exciting stories to tell. VINwiki on their Car Stories series recently invited Alpharetta Police Department officer Mark Tappan to tell an insane story about a high-speed chase he was involved in. The story is nothing short of a scene out of a Hollywood blockbuster movie.
Chevrolet Corvette Z06 8 photos
Photo: YouTube Screenshot/VINwiki
VINwiki Car Stories Mark TappanVINwiki Car Stories Mark TappanZ06 Chevrolet CorvetteVINwiki Car Stories Mark TappanVINwiki Car Stories Alpharetta MapVINwiki Car Stories Chevy Impala Police CarVINwiki Car Stories Dodge Charger Dukes of Hazzard
Speed chases caught on camera often draw a lot of attention. The scenes are dramatic and reminiscent of something out of a movie. However, the only difference is that they are real incidents, and people's lives are often on the line.

For law enforcement officers, it's worse. They often have to think fast on their feet. One wrong move and things could spiral out of control.

On the latest episode of VINwiki Car Stories series, Mark Tappan, a police officer stationed at Alpharetta Police Department, tells a dramatic story (his favorite car chase story) involving a brand new blue Z06 Chevrolet Corvette.

One rainy evening cruising down a street, Tappan noticed something weird about a brand new blue Corvette and decided to stop the driver. The Corvette driver obliged and slowed down momentarily before full-sending the sports car.

According to U.S. routine stop procedure, a law enforcement officer must witness a violation before initiating a stop. Tappan admits that the driver kept bumping the line and, at one point, went far over before making a quick correction.

According to the law enforcement officer, the driver's actions showed, "He wasn't necessarily all there," which could signal a case of intoxication.

The standard procedure during that era in a situation where a driver flees the scene after being pulled over was to gauge 'whether the need to apprehend outweighed the threat the violator posed.' Tappan chose not to pursue the driver. If anything, his Chevy Impala had nothing on a brand new Corvette.

But the Corvette driver made a wrong move and took a turn that potentially sealed his fate. It was a short stretch that ended on a T-junction. Worst of all, the driver floored the car way past 100 mph (161 kph), which only meant one thing – he was going to crash.

"It was like slow-mo Dukes of Hazzard, car flying through the air as I am pulling up, the car lands," Tappan said.

The Corvette went airborne plowing through a mall sign into the air and crash-landed into the mall parking lot.

We'd love to spell out all the details of this juicy story here, but we'll let you enjoy the action that ensued in the video below.

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About the author: Humphrey Bwayo
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Humphrey is a car enthusiast whose love and passion for automobiles extended into collecting, writing, driving, and working on cars. He got his passion for cars from his Dad, who spent thousands of hours working on his old junky 1970 E20 Toyota Corolla. Years later, he would end up doing the same with a series of lemons he’s owned throughout his adult life.
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