A Texas Inmate Escaped A Transport Van & Went On A Wild Chase Throughout A Town (VIDEOS)
An inmate escaped from a jail transport van in Tyler, TX, and went on a wild foot chase around the town on Tuesday, several social media videos show.
Timothy Chappelle, of Killeen, TX, was arrested on January 5 and accused of escaping from a vehicle belonging to the Smith County Sheriff's Office and burglarizing two homes while on the run, local media outlet CBS 19 reported.
Chappelle was originally booked on December 26 for criminal mischief charges.
A TikTok clip posted by user @meeklingg shows seconds after the prisoner smashed through the window of the van, and continued to sprint through a busy thoroughfare, barefoot, eventually outrunning a law enforcement officer after hopping a fence.
@meeklingg #inmateescape #inmatesoftiktok #fyp #tylertx
The clip posted Tuesday has since received 1.4 million views and was viral video proof of Chapelle's escape. Several other viral TikTok posts show the rest of his hot pursuit through the north Texas city.
Another sighting of the escapee posted by user @chadroo76 shows the man running in a residential neighborhood through the yards of houses.
Chappelle then slows down at one point and even asks the driver for a ride, which was declined.
The post has received over 600K views and thousands of comments from users shocked at all the different perspectives Tyler citizens filmed of the man.
"I can’t stop laughing. I’ve seen about four videos, and homeboy is still on the run," one user commented, echoing what many others were sharing.
However, the man was eventually apprehended in one of the neighborhoods that day.
According to CBS 19, Chappelle now faces bonds of a total of $1.38 million on charges of criminal mischief, two counts of burglary, and escaping custody while arrested or confined.
