Man seen darting across freeway was running from Tolleson police, officials say

TOLLESON, AZ (3TV/CBS 5) -- The man captured on shocking dashcam video darting between busy freeway traffic was running from Tolleson police, investigators say. Court documents say on Tuesday, just before 1 p.m., Tolleson police were patrolling near Interstate 10 and 83rd Avenue when an officer recognized 24-year-old Joseph Belton. The officer then discovered Belton had a felony warrant for probation violation.

Investigators say the officer tried to go near Belton, but he began running away. The officer chased Belton and told him to stop, but he refused and ran onto I-10 near 91st Avenue. He darted across six lanes of traffic and continued sprinting along a nearby canal as officers yelled at him to stop. However, police say Belton got tired and stopped running and was taken into custody. He was booked on one count of resisting arrest, one count of drug paraphernalia and one count of obstructing a highway.

The dashcam video shows Belton running across several lanes of traffic before abruptly stopping between two semitrucks. One truck narrowly missed Belton as he just stood in the middle of the freeway. Officials say traffic was going nearly 70 miles an hour.

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