HOUSTON – A police chase ended in a three-vehicle crash Wednesday afternoon in northwest Houston, according to the Houston Police Department.
The chase started in the 3600 block of South Loop when a driver refused to pull over during a traffic stop. According to police, the driver of the vehicle ran a red light and had fake paper tags.
“The speed is at 70 miles per hour,” an officer could be heard saying on dispatch audio courtesy of Broadcastify when the chase started. “It’s going to be a black Chevy Impala.”
Police said the chase lasted around 20 minutes and the vehicle crashed near the 10100 block of West Sam Houston Parkway North. The suspect car, which had a male and female inside according to police, flipped upside down.
An innocent person in a nearby vehicle had minor injuries and was taken to the hospital to be checked out, police said.
In a photo shared with KPRC 2 by a witness, emergency crews could be seen using the jaws of life to rescue a person inside of upside down car.
“Chases are unpredictable by nature, you do your best to control the situation by determining where the chase is happening,” former HPD officer, now lawyer Thomas Nixon said. He has scrutinized the department’s policy in the past.
Under HPD’s current chase policy, “when the vehicle has no license plates … or … plates issued to a different vehicle, the officer may obtain authorization from a supervisor to engage in a … pursuit.”
“It’s safe to assume they’re involved actively in crimes,” Nixon said. “It’s reasonable for an officer to assume that a vehicle is stolen when the plate doesn’t match the vehicle it’s on.”
HPD revised the pursuit policy in September, after multiple chases ended in crashes that killed innocent people. At the time, Chief Troy Finner said the changes were intended to protect officers and the public.
It’s unclear what charges the driver and passenger in Wednesday’s chase could face.
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Brittany Taylor, Bryce Newberry
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