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Ethan Isaiah Mestas

Age : 22

Gender : Male

Race : Latino/a/e

Date : 08/16/2022

Location : Interstate 35 near Tecumseh Road

City : Norman

County : Cleveland

State : Oklahoma

Agency : Oklahoma Highway Patrol

Officer(s) :Nicholas Mills

Cause of Death : Vehicle

Event : Passenger killed by police chase crash after trooper performed high-speed TVI

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

On 08/15/2022, at approximately 9:00 p.m., Oklahoma Highway Patrol Trooper Nicholas Mills attempted to stop a Ford Ranger on Interstate 35 south of Oklahoma City after observing a broken light and the driver allegedly failing to use a turn signal. Later federal court records identify these as the specific violations that initiated the encounter. The truck contained three people: driver Alex Carpenter and passengers Ethan Isaiah Mestas, 22, and Mercedes Martinez, 26.
The driver continued south on Interstate 35 while Mills pursued. During the pursuit, police learned that the truck had been reported stolen. The pursuit entered Norman and reached speeds exceeding 80 mph. Police also alleged that items were thrown from the vehicle during the pursuit.
Mills requested authorization to perform a Tactical Vehicle Intervention, or TVI, in which a police vehicle deliberately contacts a pursued vehicle to cause it to rotate and stop. Later federal litigation states that it remains unclear whether Mills actually received authorization before performing the maneuver.
Mills deliberately struck the Ford Ranger with his patrol vehicle while the vehicles were traveling at more than 80 mph. The impact caused the Ranger to spin, roll violently and eject both passengers. Mestas was pronounced dead at the scene. Martinez survived initially with critical injuries but subsequently died.
Oklahoma Highway Patrol initially described the crash differently. Subsequent reporting based on video evidence established that Mills had deliberately struck and spun the truck. Later national reporting similarly documented that Mills initially claimed the fleeing vehicle had struck his patrol car, while video showed that Mills had rammed the truck at more than 80 mph. OHP subsequently cleared Mills of wrongdoing.
Carpenter was criminally charged with first-degree murder in connection with Mestas' death under Oklahoma's felony-murder law, as well as vehicle theft and felony eluding. Carpenter disputed OHP's account of who was driving, claiming in a sworn filing that Mestas had been driving. Mestas' family disputed Carpenter's claim and said Carpenter had picked Mestas up in the Ford Ranger before the trip to Oklahoma. OHP identified Carpenter as the driver, and later federal court records likewise identify Carpenter as the driver and Mestas and Martinez as passengers.
On 03/12/2024, Mestas' parents, Fabian Eddy Gray and Adelma Mestas, filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Trooper Nicholas Mills and Oklahoma Highway Patrol Chief Patrick F. Mays in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma. The lawsuit alleges excessive force and challenges OHP's training, supervision and policies permitting high-speed TVI maneuvers.
The complaint alleges that a TVI can generally be performed safely only at substantially lower speeds and that Mills used the maneuver at more than 80 mph for conduct that began with a broken light and failure to signal. The plaintiffs characterize Mills' maneuver as deadly force and allege that OHP leadership continued to train, authorize and approve high-speed TVIs despite knowledge that the practice had resulted in deaths.
The litigation remains active. On 07/06/2026, U.S. District Judge Patrick R. Wyrick denied OHP Chief Patrick Mays' latest motion to dismiss. The federal court again summarized the underlying event as Mills pursuing the vehicle and ending the pursuit by performing a TVI at more than 80 mph, causing the vehicle to roll and eject Mestas and Martinez, killing both passengers.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://kfor.com/news/local/one-killed-after-high-speed-chase-with-troopers/
https://www.koco.com/article/oklahoma-cleveland-county-chase-deadly-crash/40906849
https://krdo.com/news/2022/08/24/a-man-from-pueblo-is-charged-with-murder-after-a-deadly-high-speed-chase-in-oklahoma/
https://krdo.com/news/2022/09/12/pueblo-man-accused-of-murder-refutes-accounts-from-oklahoma-highway-patrol/
https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/oklahoma/okwdce/5%3A2024cv00268/126123/13/
https://docs.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/oklahoma/okwdce/5%3A2024cv00268/126123/52
https://dockets.justia.com/docket/oklahoma/okwdce/5%3A2024cv00268/126123
Name: Mercedes Martinez