KINGSTON SPRINGS, Tenn. (WKRN) -- Authorities are on the lookout for a parolee who allegedly endangered law enforcement and motorists during a high-speed chase in Kingston Springs Monday afternoon.

On Monday, July 28, one of Kingston Springs' license plate recognition cameras captured a Ford F-250 driving by. The vehicle was reportedly stolen on June 25 from the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center.

Video from the Kingston Springs Police Department shows the dangerous pursuit as the driver -- later identified as 38-year-old Christopher Pate -- passed cars on a double yellow line and drove 60 mph in a 30 mph zone.

Sgt. Jeremy Vaughan told News 2 that Pate put many people in jeopardy over the course of that chase, saying he was driving very recklessly.

It wasn't long before Pate barreled onto Interstate 40 East. He passed a merging car and an approaching semi, almost causing a wreck, on the right shoulder.

Moments later, the stolen truck can be seen driving across the grassy median. The truck sped toward oncoming traffic in the breakdown lane, driving dangerously past cars in the wrong direction. Shortly afterward, the truck steered back into the eastbound lanes.

The pursuit ended when the truck hit the guardrail and flipped.

"What did it look like in real time?" News 2's Andy Cordan asked.

"It was slow motion," Vaughan answered. "I could see his face, and just the expression on his face as the vehicle was going sideways and then starts to roll over. He knew that he messed up at that point. He was scared."

In the few seconds it took Vaughan to back up, Pate was gone. A trucker told officers he saw a man get up off the highway and run into the woods.

"You put on the brakes, you back up -- it only takes 10 seconds. I bet you figure there's going to be a body in the truck. Are you shocked when you hear he's gone?" Cordan questioned.

"Absolutely," the sergeant replied. "We thought maybe he had been ejected, and the truck driver that was behind us said that he saw the man get up off the road and run into the woods."

A Metro Nashville Police Department K9 tracked Pate's bloody trail for a while, but the felon got away.

Meanwhile, the vehicle became fully engulfed in flames until the Kingston Springs Volunteer Fire Department arrived to extinguish the blaze.

According to the Tennessee Department of Correction, in 2013, Pate was sentenced to 12 years of probation after being convicted for meth and forgery charges. Following multiple probation revocations by the court, he wound up in TDOC custody in 2020 and then granted supervised parole in 2024.

As of Friday, Aug. 1, Pate is still at large and considered very dangerous. If you see him or have any information regarding his whereabouts, you're asked to call the Kingston Springs Police Department at 615-952-9965.

News Source : https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news/man-on-the-run-after-fiery-rollover-crash-involving-stolen-truck-in-kingston-springs/