Jasper County Sheriff Chuck Havard said Sunday that deputies with his department and others assisted Kirbyville Police with a chase that began on Saturday evening in Kirbyville and ended west of town, when the suspect vehicle left the road and hit a tree.
Kirbyville Police Chief Paul Brister said the chase began when officer Gene Lilley, who was on routine patrol, received word of a vehicle driving erratically and soon spotted the car and tried to stop it on Farm to Market Road 82. Brister said the driver failed to stop resulting in the chase.
Deputies from the Jasper County Sheriff's Department soon joined in the high speed pursuit, which continued west and finally came to an end on County Road 408 when the driver lost control of the vehicle causing it to leave the road and strike a tree.
Havard said following the crash, one of the occupants of the vehicle was taken into custody, but another fled on foot prompting officers to call for a police dog to assist in the search.
Havard said a police dog and a deputy using an aerial drone was also dispatched to the area to assist and within a short time the runaway driver had been located. Havard said the man was found entangled in a briar patch and was actually calling for help when he was captured by one of his officers and another from the Kirbyville Police Department.
Havard said following the chase and capture, officers learned the runaway vehicle had been stolen in the Houston Area.
Brister said the underaged passenger was taken to a juvenile detention facility and the driver, who has not been identified pending formal charges and arraignment was taken to hospital for treatment for the injuries he received in the crash.
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