Fatal wreck raises pursuit issues
A woman was killed and two young children injured late Wednesday in a Trinity Gardens collision with a Harris County sheriff ’s deputy who was chasing a driver suspected of an armed robbery spree and who is still on the lam, police said.
The deputy — with his emergency lights and sirens on — collided with the woman’s black Kia Borrego with two children inside around 10:50 p.m., causing at least five other vehicles to then be hit in the aftermath at the Laura Koppe and Lockwood intersection.
The impact sent the deputy’s vehicle careening toward a corner store engulfed in flames, with surveillance footage showing at least one bystander leaping out of the way to avoid being hit. The woman, who remains unidentified, died in the crash, while the older child, a 5-year-old boy, was hospitalized in critical condition. Her vehicle rolled over and struck at least two other cars.
A homeless man, Johnny Walker, witnessed the crash while cleaning debris alongside the store and rushed to save who he could. He pulled the sheriff ’s deputy from the burning vehicle — fearing that the cruiser would “blow up,” he said.
“I pulled him out and two more young guys came and helped me lift him,” Walker said, adding that the deputy was barely conscious. “We took him inside the store.”
The deputy came to within moments. He was hospitalized and is expected to survive, officials said. “I’m glad he’s OK,” Walker said. Walker was unaware of the children in the other vehicle, he said. A 2-year-old girl was later listed in stable condition. Three other people sustained minor injuries and were hospitalized, police said.
Sheriff Ed Gonzalez commend
ed Walker’s actions in rescuing the deputy — a threeyear veteran of the department. The sheriff ’s investigators are now tasked with finding the robbery suspect, who escaped the chase.
Police have not shared the wanted man’s name but said he robbed a gas station at 10:42 p.m. in the 10800 block of the Eastex Freeway, the county’s jurisdiction.
The injured deputy heard the dispatched call while returning north from downtown Houston and exited U.S. 59, near Tidwell, Houston police Assistant Chief Chandra Hatcher said during a news conference. He spotted a masked man — who matched the suspect’s description — leave a nearby CVS in the city limits and tried pulling the driver over, she said.
Senior Deputy Thomas Gilliland said the CVS is near the county line and that the injured deputy is assigned to the neighboring District 2. Deputies will sometimes respond to nearby calls in the city, he said.
Police radio traffic from the incident indicates that the deputy called in a vehicle description: possibly a gray 1990s Lincoln Town Car with a black top. The driver took off around 10:49 p.m., with the deputy chasing him for more than a mile, Hatcher said. He checked in near Hirsch Road. The crash happened about four minutes later.
A police official on radio traffic said he received a phone call about the wreck within minutes of it happening.
“And it doesn’t look good,” the official said.
Hatcher said investigators were not yet sure which vehicle — the woman’s or the deputy’s — struck each other first. The deputy was heading east on Laura Koppe, while the woman was driving north on Lockwood. Six occupied vehicles were involved in the wreck, she said. A seventh vehicle was struck by debris.
The fire in the deputy’s vehicle was extinguished “fairly quickly,” the assistant chief said.
The sheriff ’s office Internal Affairs and Patrol Bureau will determine if the injured deputy followed the proper policies and procedures during a pursuit, Gilliland said.
He did not know the deputy’s speed at the time of the crash but the investigation would determine that, he added.
Deputies in Harris County are allowed to start pursuits but are advised to stop the chase if the suspect’s identity is known or if they’re wanted for “a traffic violation, misdemeanor, or a non-violent felony,” according to the sheriff’s office pursuit policy. In this case, the wanted man was believed to be armed.
Exceeding the speed limit during a pursuit “so long as he or she does not endanger life or property” is allowed within reason. The chase should also end if “there is a clear and unreasonable danger to the innocent victims” by excessive speed, reckless driving techniques or the suspect’s own erratic driving.
The policy does not excuse the deputy for “reckless disregard for the safety of others.”
“Pursuits that result in serious injury or death will be closely examined within the criminal justice system with question toward our responsibility for the protection of life and property in relation to the outcome of the pursuit,” the policy states.