Bicyclist hit, killed by driver possibly distracted by police chase in W. Houston, officials say

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A call to recover a stolen tailgate Tuesday morning turned into an unexpected police chase on Houston's westside. Deputies say the chase lasted about 30 minutes with the suspect exceeding speeds of 100 mph and ended when he crashed into an innocent driver. Meanwhile, another driver, who investigators believe was distracted by the chase, hit and killed a cyclist nearby.

The series of events raises the question of whether deputies should have called off the chase sooner.

James, who asked ABC13 not to share his last name, said the tailgate of his pickup truck had been previously stolen five times in his Woodland Heights neighborhood. This time, he put a GPS tracker in it and was alerted by an alarm that it had been stolen again at about 4:15 a.m. on Tuesday.

He said deputies quickly began searching for it after he called for help.

"They had a car tailing him immediately. I mean, it was amazing," James said. "I gave them live updates over the telephone. My neighbor caught the suspect's car on his camera, so I described it to them."

Harris County Constable Pct. 1 tracked the alleged thief to an apartment complex near West Gulf Bank Road and West Montgomery Road in the Acres Homes neighborhood. But the suspect took off in a silver Ford SUV at about 5 a.m. and led deputies on a high-speed chase for nearly 30 minutes.

It came to an end when the suspect crashed into another driver who managed to turn left on Westheimer and Hillcroft, even though the road was blocked. Investigators said the suspect was speeding up to 90 mph at the time of the crash.

Both the suspected thief and the driver he hit were taken to the hospital after the crash, deputies said. They are both expected to survive.

Meanwhile, Houston police officers at the scene were alerted that a woman who was riding a bike was struck by a car in a second, unrelated crash nearby at about 5:15 a.m. The woman was pronounced dead at the scene.

Investigators believe the driver was possibly distracted by the police chase that had just come to an end at the intersection and did not see the woman in the road.

Surveillance video obtained by ABC13 from a nearby business shows she was standing in the road at the time of impact.

Houston police said it's possible the driver and victim might have been distracted by the large police presence down the street. Investigators believe the woman might have been experiencing homelessness and was somewhere between 50 and 65 years old.

"(The cyclist) was actually not pedaling. She was parked, basically," Lt. Christina Simpson, with the Houston Police Department, said. "(This area is) not exactly well-lit. We have a lot of pedestrians out here. Unfortunately, there's a homeless population, and it's hard to see."

HPD said the driver is not facing any charges at this point. They do not believe he was speeding or impaired.

RELATED: Bicyclist hit and killed by driver possibly distracted by police chase in W. Houston, officials say

James said he is extremely thankful and appreciative for Pct. 1's swift response. Deputies returned his tailgate to him at about 6 a.m., but he said it was totaled by damage sustained during the crash.

He expressed he didn't expect this incident to evolve into such a mess. He would like the community and law enforcement to have a conversation about the best way to pursue these cases.

"Cops have a hard job, and I am so grateful for everything they do. They're here to protect and serve. My intent is to ask a question. This is a $4,000 tailgate, and there was a lot of ancillary harm done. Where do we as a community want to have a line about doing high-speed chases in an urban, highly populated environment?" he asked.

A spokesperson with Pct. 1 said deputies must get approval from a supervisor before they can pursue a fleeing suspect. In this case, a lieutenant was involved and decided to proceed with the chase.

They said HPD helped with blocking off some of the intersections for safety reasons. But unfortunately, the suspect crashed into another car right before he could be stopped.

There are certain conditions, officials said, that would warrant calling off a chase, like a suspect driving in traffic or going the wrong way. But they did not clearly answer whether speeds exceeding 100 mph fall under that criteria.

Pct. 1 said all chases will be reviewed by their internal affairs division to make sure all policies and procedures were followed.