Innocent driver's car split in half after crash during short chase on Westheimer

Monday, November 2, 2020

Speeding driver crashes into innocent person, ripping car in half

In the video above, the innocent driver's vehicle doesn't even look like it was once a car. But police say had the victim been out of the area a second sooner, he probably wouldn't have been hit. Here's what else we learned at the scene.

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A man is in the hospital and another was arrested after a crash on Westheimer overnight that ripped a car in two.

Police say that Monday after 2 a.m., they tried to stop the driver of a Mercedes, which had two passengers inside, that was speeding and ran a red light on Westheimer, sparking a short chase.

According to Sgt. David Rose with HPD's Vehicular Crimes Division, the driver was going about 100 mph when he ran the light at Fondren. He then cut through a parking lot to try to avoid the officer, Rose said.

Once the driver was back on Westheimer at Stoney Brook, he crashed into an innocent driver in a Cadillac, ripping that vehicle in half.

The victim was taken to Memorial Hermann Hospital. He's expected to survive.

After the crash, the suspect got out of his car and jumped a fence. He was arrested and taken to Ben Taub Hospital.

He is charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and evading arrest.

"That's why the (district attorney) accepted aggravated assault with a deadly weapon: speeding and disregarding the lights," Rose explained. "When you do that and strike somebody else, you can easily cause their death."

"Had it been a second before or a second after, he (the victim) probably wouldn't have gotten struck at all," Rose continued.

Both of the women in the Mercedes with the suspect suffered broken arms.

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