Dashcam video shows DPS trooper slam into 18-wheeler while responding to W. Harris Co. chase

Jeff Ehling Image
Wednesday, November 1, 2023
Trooper hurt after crashing into 18-wheeler while responding to chase
The wrecker driver whose dashcam caught the crash told ABC13 he ran to help the trooper. Meanwhile, another trooper was hurt when the chase suspect allegedly backed up and ran over his foot.

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) -- A Texas Department of Public Safety trooper is recovering from a violent crash with an 18-wheeler in west Harris County.

The trooper was on his way to the end of a chase in the Katy area when the crash happened on Tuesday night, officials said. It was one of two separate incidents related to the chase that injured DPS troopers.

Dashcam video from a wrecker driver at the scene shows the crash on Mason Road where Colonial Parkway turns into Park Row Drive. ABC13 paused the video right before the impact.

Officials said the complex situation started with Harris County sheriff's deputies and DPS troopers chasing a woman.

A deputy confirmed to ABC13 on Wednesday morning that there were kids and another adult in the woman's car.

The dashcam video shows the DPS trooper with his lights on, responding to the end of the car chase. At the same time, the 18-wheeler is coming into the intersection and the trooper slammed into the side of the big rig.

The crash was so severe, the trooper had trouble getting out of the vehicle, DPS said.

The tow truck driver told ABC13 he immediately ran to the aid of the trooper, who was injured and in need of help.

"All I could see was blood, and I tried to open the doors. All the doors would not open. I tried to get him to crawl out through the back, but that was no good," Frankie Elayyan said. "The only way to get out of the car was through the front windshield, so obviously my hands were a little cut up, but thank God we were able to get him out."

The trooper was attempting to respond to a scene where a woman allegedly refused to stop for a different trooper on SH-99 at Peek Road and led them on a chase. The woman allegedly pulled into a garage in Katy, but the chase wasn't over.

The woman backed into a DPS patrol vehicle and struck a trooper, officials said.

"Got one at gunpoint. They are going into the garage. She's backing up. She's backing up. She just rammed the trooper's car. Looks like she just tried to run over a trooper," officials were heard reporting on radio traffic.

Officials said the woman ran over a DPS trooper's foot while smashing into his patrol car. Then, she continued to flee from officials.

Troopers eventually used a pit maneuver to stop the car at Merchants Way and Mason Road, and she was taken into custody.

Her name has not been released.

The trooper involved in the 18-wheeler crash was taken to the Texas Medical Center and is expected to survive his injuries. The tow truck driver said the trooper was walking around and talking before he was transported.

The trooper who was struck by the chase suspect was taken to the hospital for treatment.

The investigation into both incidents is still underway.

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