[PHOTOS: Images from the chase]
The chase started in the Heights and meandered through southwest Houston, ending at the Southwest Freeway and Bissonnet. That's where police say the fleeing driver bumped a vehicle, which disabled the van and it came to a halt. The driver was yanked out of the van, and taken into custody after the dramatic crash that signaled the end of the chase.
Whatever answers we might expect from a suspected car thief came like this.
"Why are the feds mess with me so hard, man?" asked the suspect as he was loaded into an ambulance.
It started just after 4pm. Floor installer Rodolfo Barillo was working in a home when he left his keys in his running van. Two minutes later, he says he stepped out of the house and his van was gone.
That's when he and a co-worker went looking.
"We went around the block," said Albert Villegas, who helped chase the suspect. "We saw him coming down 18th Street. We called the cops and they got on him."
The chase itself took many turns down a grassy field and onto streets where the suspect criss-crossed through busy afternoon traffic, eventually ending up on Highway 59, where, on the feeder road at Bissonnet, he collided into a small BMW. Inside was Menza Huff's sister and niece.
"Pretty scary," said Huff. "They left fifteen minutes ago, and then you get a call saying they're in an accident. I heard my niece screaming. Pretty frightening."
In all, police say the suspect struck three vehicles. Amazingly though, no one was seriously hurt. As for the suspect, he was transported to the hospital to be evaluated, primarily because of his erratic behavior.
Police did have their guns drawn at the end of the chase, but no shots were ever fired. Police still have not released the suspect's name. They do say he likely faces multiple charges.
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