At a Tuesday traffic stop on Airline Road, the 16-year-old unlicensed driver was not following instructions to keep his hands where a Columbus police officer could see them.

As the situation escalated, Christopher Austin Bankhead, one of three passengers in the car, opened the front passenger door and said, “I’m getting out.” But the car sped away before he could, and moments later Bankhead died when the car crashed in front of Food Giant on Alabama Street.

The scene played out on portions of body camera footage Police Chief Joseph Daughtry showed members of the media Friday following a press conference about the Tuesday crash that killed Bankhead and injured three others.

CPD officers pulled the car over for speeding and careless driving, Daughtry said at the press conference. The footage shows evidence of the vehicle occupants ignoring officers’ instructions.

“(Officers) issued the driver several warnings to show their hands (during the traffic stop), the driver kept reaching toward his waistband,” Daughtry said.

After seeing what appeared to be an assault rifle pistol in the 16-year-old driver’s waistband, Daughtry said an officer drew his gun just before the vehicle sped away.

Officers returned to their cars in an attempt to pursue but had lost sight of the vehicle before returning to their patrol cars.

Officers went different directions off of Airline Road in an attempt to find the car, Daughtry said.

“At no time did a Columbus Police Department vehicle perform any type of PIT maneuver,” Daughtry said, referencing a tactic where a police vehicle hits a car it’s pursuing, forcing it to swing around and come to a stop. “… We weren’t even close enough to call it a pursuit.”

Daughtry said by the time officers turned onto Alabama Street, the car had already crashed into a sign post in front of Food Giant. The portions of body camera footage shown to media members shows no collision involving patrol vehicles.

After arriving at the crash scene, footage shows an officer recovering the gun – which Daughtry said was stolen – from the 16-year-old driver, who was the only minor in the car.

The driver and other two passengers were injured in the crash. Two of the vehicle’s occupants have been released from the hospital while the third, who was airlifted out of the area for treatment, has yet to be discharged.

“My heart goes out to the family,” Daughtry said. “… And I know the community has questions.”

Mississippi Highway Patrol is investigating the crash, Daughtry said. Charges are pending.

Daughtry said he called Friday’s press conference to address rumors circulating on social media – specifically that his officers caused the crash – and set the record straight.

“I know (the family has) a lot of questions. I know that they have a lot of people giving them false information,” Daughtry said. “Now, they’re giving false information because they are trying to get clicks. … They’re trying to get income on social media.”