A burglary suspect was killed after he was run over by his own getaway driver during a high-speed pursuit early Tuesday in north Houston, police say.
An off-duty Houston police officer spotted three burglars inside the Sunny’s Food Mart in the 9800 block of Bauman around 12:45 a.m. and radioed the crime to police dispatchers, according to Houston Police Department Asst. Chief Larry Satterwhite. The three suspected burglars fled in a medium-sized U-Haul truck, which officers spotted driving erratically nearby a short time later, Satterwhite said.
Officers tried to pull it over, but the driver allegedly refused to stop. Early on in the 30-minute chase, one of the suspects jumped out of the truck and was quickly apprehended by police, Satterwhite said.
A second suspect apparently tried to do the same near North Main Street and North Loop 610, but he fell off the truck and was run over by the rear tires, Satterwhite said. As the U-Haul driver continued to speed away, officers called for paramedics, who pronounced the man dead in the street, Satterwhite said.
The driver intentionally crashed into an HPD patrol car on the pursuit and eventually stopped after officers deployed spike strips to destroy her tires, Satterwhite said. She was placed in handcuffs shortly after.
“Fleeing the police is such a dangerous thing,” Satterwhite said. “This male may have been involved (in the burglary), but now we’ve lost him. It’s a very sad thing.”
The driver will likely be charged with assault on a police officer for allegedly crashing into the police cruiser and murder for the death of her alleged accomplice, Satterwhite said. Charges on the third suspect, who had safely jumped out of the truck, were not immediately clear.
Jay R. Jordan covers breaking news in the Houston area. Read him on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and our subscriber site, HoustonChronicle.com | Follow him on Twitter at @JayRJordan | Email him at jay.jordan@chron.com
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