A suspect is in custody after leading Harris County Constable Precinct 3 deputies on a chase through Houston on Tuesday morning, and ABC13’s SkyEye caught the unusual way it ended. Trying to get away, the driver slowed down and climbed out of his car while it was still rolling forward. It didn’t work, and the chase was over moments later.
According to SkyEye footage, the driver spent a while trying to shake the deputies, and at one point he cut through the parking lot of Purple Sage Elementary School before pulling back onto the road. That’s where he gave up on driving away. He slowed the car down, opened the door, and stepped out while it was still moving.
With no one steering it, the car kept rolling slowly forward on its own. The driver didn’t get far on foot before a deputy hit him with a Taser, which dropped him to the ground. No one else was found inside the car.
The entire chase played out live on ABC13’s SkyEye camera. From the air, the ending was easy to follow. The driver climbed out, and deputies closed in within seconds. It ended the way most of these do, with the suspect on the ground and in custody.
What Happens When a Driver Bails From a Moving Car
Bailing out of a slow-moving car to run on foot is a familiar move in police chases. The idea is to ditch the vehicle, which deputies can easily follow and a helicopter can track from above, and try to disappear on foot instead. It rarely works, and here it bought the driver only a few seconds before the Taser ended it.
However, even when the driver flees, their vehicle remains a concern. In this case, instead of stopping when the suspect fled, it continued to creep slowly along. A driverless car drifting down a public road may still cause damage or injury, even at slow speeds, as it rolls into objects or people. Fortunately, there were no reported injuries involved in this situation.
What’s Still Unknown
It still isn’t clear why the deputies were chasing the driver in the first place. ABC13 reported that the reason hasn’t been released, and the station said it reached out to Precinct 3 for more information. For now, that piece of the story is still missing.
Authorities haven’t released the suspect’s name, and no charges have been announced. So, for now, there’s no formal accusation on the record yet. So the only sure thing at this point is how the chase ended, not why it started.