Sharpton's driver arrested after chase

CRAWFORD, Texas, Aug. 30 (UPI) -- Civil rights activist Al Sharpton's driver was arrested in Texas for leading police on a high speed chase for nine miles along an interstate highway.

Jarrett Maupin, 43, was arrested Sunday and charged with one felony count of evading arrest, and the misdemeanor charge of reckless driving, the New York Post reported Tuesday.

Maupin was driving Sharpton to the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport for a flight to New York after Sharpton visited Iraq War protesters outside President George Bush's Crawford ranch.

Lt. Danny Williams, a spokesman for the Ellis County Sheriff's Office said Maupin was clocked at 110 mph in a 65-mph zone on Interstate 35 about 40 miles south of Dallas.

"The reason he was arrested is that he was weaving in and out of traffic," Williams said. "They couldn't get him to slow down, so we radioed ahead to the state highway patrol.

Asked if Maupin had been speeding, Sharpton told the newspaper: "I don't know."

Maupin was freed on $1,000 bail.