Pastor reacts after chase in church bus hits national TV
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A pastor whose church bus was stolen and then taken on a wild chase with deputies got his first look at the vehicle Monday as it was pulled out of an impound lot.
Pastor Jose Artega couldn't contain his feelings when he got a look at the totaled bus.
"It's messed up!" he said.
Never before was the bus taken on a ride as it was on March 23, when it was recorded violently swerving as a 15-year-old boy tried to flee from deputies.
The video appeared Saturday on the A&E show "Live PD." Artega said he played it for his church Sunday at Iglesia Christiana Evangelica Communidad de Amor.
The pastor said they're already receiving offers from Good Samaritans who want to try and replace the bus.
Congregants saw the bus they've had since 2011 driven by a teen they don't know, allegedly leading deputies on an erratic chase under dangerous conditions.
"I thought a couple of times he was going to roll it," Deputy Justin Cloud said.
"Right there before he hit the patrol car, it just started slowing down for me. I said to myself, 'Ouch.'"
The chase ended after the bus hit a patrol vehicle. The teen was arrested on suspicious of evading and aggravated assault on a peace officer.
Artega did not want to pursue a charge of theft against the 15-year-old boy.
Instead, he says he wants to talk to the teen. He says the church wants to minister to him.
"It's not that he did something wrong, of course it's wrong, we don't appreciate it," Artega said. "But we are thinking, 'Well, what can we do for him?"
Instead of having to pay hundreds of dollars to get the bus back, Artega signed over the title to the bus to the people who run the impound lot.
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