From high-speed chase to a higher calling: A career criminal finds redemption

A Canadian County man known for running from the law is now running toward a new life, filled with purpose, faith, and a surprising friendship with the officer who arrested him.

William Pruett spent years trapped in a cycle of addiction and crime. At 16, he started getting into trouble, then came the addictions to drugs and alcohol. His rap sheet, filled with charges ranging from assault and battery to burglary and embezzlement, grew longer with each bad decision.

“I was so, so low,” Pruett said. “I knew that my life was just over, I couldn't salvage anything from it. It wasn't a question of if I was going to die it was for certain I was going to die.”

It all came to a head in 2023 when he was on the run, wanted on multiple felony warrants. Lt. Zac Bradford with Yukon Police spotted him.

“He took off really fast,” Lt. Bradford said. “Took me about a half mile to catch up to him.” 

Pruett led officers on a high-speed chase that hit speeds of 120 mph. Bradford performed a tactical vehicle intervention on I-40, flipping Pruett’s SUV near Council Road.

“Next thing you know, I have a flashlight pointed at me,” Pruett says.

Inside the wrecked SUV, police found meth and a toy gun.

“When I got stopped, that toy gun was going to be pointed at a cop, and that cop was going to kill me,” Pruett said. “That was my escape.”

But that plan never happened.

“It was nothing but God that displaced that gun,” Bradford said. “He had it in a position in the vehicle where he would know where it is when that vehicle flipped, it was displaced, and he couldn't find it.”

Pruitt went to prison, where he found salvation at the chapel inside Jackie Brannon Correctional Center in McAlester. He gave his life to Christ and found a church family at Together We Church in Yukon.

“When it all came to a head, there was nowhere else to turn but to Jesus,” Pruett said.

He completed a substance abuse treatment program in prison, earned early release, and now serves the remainder of his time on a suspended sentence. He found a home at Together We Church in Yukon, married his longtime girlfriend, and is raising their 6-year-old son.

Pruitt also reached out to Lt. Bradford to express his gratitude.

“He’s the vessel that Jesus used to put an end to my destruction,” Pruitt says. “I truly believe he was there to help me that night. He gave me purpose. He brought life back to me.”

Today, the two meet for coffee often and have become friends.

“I never thought I’d be part of something so amazing,” Bradford says. “He’s a really good guy, strong, very strong. To be able to overcome the things he has, it’s incredible.”

Pruitt recently earned his CDL and hopes to launch his own trucking company. He also wants to go back to prison, this time as a volunteer, to help others find redemption.