The two Harris County Sheriff's Office patrol vehicles were stopped in a turn lane northbound on Highway 6 at West Little York, one in front of the other. That's when investigators say a pickup truck heading southbound slammed head-on into the first patrol vehicle, pushing it back into the second.
The impact was so hard that one of the patrol vehicles was pushed back 28 feet.
Investigators say the driver of the pickup truck was 16 years old. They suspect he had been smoking synthetic marijuana. He was transported to the hospital, where he'll undergo a mandatory blood test.
Deputies say one of the passengers in the pickup truck had asked the teen to drive because that person was reportedly intoxicated. Another passenger in the pickup was said to be a runaway, whose parents came to pick her up.
"We had two deputies stopped northbound at the light at Little York and Highway 6. They were one behind the other," said Sgt. Susan Cotter with the Harris County Sheriff's Office. "There was a truck going southbound on Highway 6. He failed to drive in a single lane of traffic and struck the deputy head-on."
The deputy in the first patrol vehicle was taken to the hospital with an injured wrist and bruising. A deputy in the second vehicle was doing a courtesy transport for a woman. She was taken to the hospital as a precaution.
Charges in the case are pending.
