A Red Corvette, a Covered Plate, and a 156-MPH Chase That Ended in a Cornfield

There’s an unwritten rule on the interstate: if you’re piloting a Torch Red C8 Corvette, you’re already the star of the show. Adding a covered license plate and expired registration to that equation is practically an invitation for a trooper’s attention. Yet, that’s exactly the scenario that unfolded on a quiet June morning in Arkansas, sparking a high-speed pursuit that tore across state lines and ended with a wrecked sports car and a driver facing a long list of felony charges.

m. on June 15, when an Arkansas State Police trooper on Interstate 55 spotted a red Corvette with a physical cover hiding its plate. A quick records check showed the registration had been dead since March 2026. When the trooper flipped on his lights near mile marker 55, the driver—identified as Jayden Smith—didn’t pull over.

Instead, he stomped the gas, sending a cloud of smoke from the exhaust as the car launched forward. The trooper’s radar soon clocked the C8 holding steady above 150 mph, peaking at 156 mph as it blasted into Missouri.

Missouri State Highway Patrol troopers were ready. They laid tire-deflation devices near the 4-mile marker, shredding the Corvette’s left-side tires. Despite the damage, run-flat technology kept the car limping north until Smith exited onto Highway 164. As the pursuing Arkansas trooper moved in for a tactical vehicle intervention, Smith slammed his brakes, causing the patrol cruiser to smash into the Corvette’s rear quarter.

Both vehicles were disabled. Smith then bailed out with a black backpack and sprinted into a field, where the trooper tackled him into submission. Inside the backpack: two Ram TRX key fobs and a Dodge SRT fob. 12 grams of suspected marijuana.

Perhaps the strangest moment came when troopers loaded Smith into the back of a patrol car. ” He’ll have plenty of time to shop from a jail cell in Pemiscot County, where he now faces charges of felony fleeing, reckless driving, and drug possession. The Corvette? Left in a crumpled heap on the side of a Missouri highway—a stark reminder that even 156 mph can’t outrun a police radio.