HOUSTON - A late-night traffic stop in west Houston turned into a brief pursuit and a violent crash late Saturday, leaving a driver hospitalized with major injuries, police said.
Alleged intoxicated driver crashes
What we know:
Houston Police Department night shift officers responded to a traffic hazard at 11:30 p.m. at Fondren Road and Richmond Avenue, where a man was found asleep inside a vehicle stopped in the intersection while holding the driver's door handle.
According to investigators, officers opened the door, but the man allegedly tried to slam it shut and fought with officers as they attempted to remove him. Police reported smelling alcohol at the scene.
Although officers turned off the vehicle's engine using its push-button ignition, the driver managed to restart it, put it in gear, and drive away. Just five or six seconds later, after traveling several hundred feet, the vehicle crashed into a large oak tree along the 9200 block of Richmond Avenue, flipping and rolling before coming to a stop.
The driver, who was the only person in the vehicle, was admitted to the intensive care unit at Ben Taub Hospital. Authorities confirmed he was alive at the time of a morning media briefing. No officers were injured.
Investigators are examining whether officers were still holding the door when the vehicle sped off. Speed was confirmed as a factor in the crash, and alcohol is being investigated as a possible contributing cause.
Authorities noted that several California voter registration forms were among the items scattered across the roadway, though it remains unclear why the driver possessed them. Potential charges include driving while intoxicated (DWI), and the Harris County District Attorney's Office will be contacted for formal charging decisions.
The Source: Information in this article is from the Houston Police Department and Onscene.