1 dead, 1 injured after police chase leads to wreck
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle
One man died and another is in critical condition this morning after the pair allegedly stole a van, then crashed it into a trash truck as they fled police on Fondren in southwest Houston.
“The chase lasted about a minute,” said HPD spokesman Officer Gabe Ortiz.
The incident began at about 3 a.m., when an apartment dweller reported a Dodge Caravan being stolen from a complex parking lot in the 5800 block of Fondren, Ortiz said.
A patrolman spotted the van leaving exiting the complex lot onto Green Ash.
“The second that driver spotted the officer is when the pursuit started,” Ortiz said.
The van driver turned north on Fondren and ran red lights at Harwin, West Park Tollway and West Park, Ortiz said.
The pursuing officer was about two blocks behind the van when it rammed into the passenger side of a BFI Waste Management Co. truck that was crossing Fondren at Pagewood Lane.
“The impact dislodged the truck’s gas tank but the Houston Fire Department cleaned up the spill,” Ortiz said.
The names of the van’s occupants were not released. The driver was dead at the scene and the passenger was taken to Ben Taub General Hospital, Ortiz said.
The trash truck driver was shaken up but was not hospitalized, he said.
