Suspect flees traffic stop by jumping in Houston bayou
HOUSTON (KTRK) -- The Houston Police Department chased a suspect into White Oak Bayou this morning.
An officer attempted to pull over a driver on Bagby St. after scanning his vehicle and noticing he had open warrants.
The suspect drove off and police followed the man to the intersection of I-10 and Taylor where the man lost control of his car and hit a pole.
The chase was not over as police say the man ran off leaving behind a female passenger. He ran across the bridge at the intersection and jumped about 30 feet on to the pathway below. The man then went into White Oak Bayou and as police started searching for the man they discovered he was hiding inside a large drainage pipe.
Police say the man then refused to come out and that presented a problem for officers.
"Officers set up a perimeter on both sides of the storm sewer via man hole on the north side to trap him in one area. Officers from our dive team came out and were able to make contact with him and convince him to come back out of the pipe and take him into custody," said Lt. Larry Crowson of HPD.
Police say the man was in the pipe for about two hours and had hypothermia so he was taken to the hospital.
Officers found a semi-automatic pistol in the man's car and he faces felony evading and firearms possession charges.
This suspect isn't the first to try to elude officers by jumping into the water -- and he's not even the first this week!
On Monday, two separate chases in two separate counties ended with suspects needing officers' help to get out of the bodies of the water where they had sought refuge. In Brazoria County, a man driving a pickup ran from authorities, driving through construction zones and rural property before abandoning the vehicle at the water's edge and trying to swim to freedom in the Brazos River. It didn't take long him to determine he wanted out of the water, but then the banks proved slippery. After about an hour, he was helped out of the river, and into a patrol car.
PHOTOS: Chase suspect jumps into Brazos River
The same day, a man in Montgomery County tried to get away from authorities by jumping into a lake, but soon discovered his new company included a number of alligators. After seeking refuge on a small island, authorities rescued the half-naked man, who was also arrested and charged.
OTHER RECENT POLICE CHASES:
Police chase ends with violent crash in NE Harris County last week
East Houston police chase suspect says he ran because he was 'high'
