HOUSTON – Police were involved in a 16-mile high-speed chase Tuesday in downtown Houston during rush hour, officials said.
Houston police responded to a family disturbance between the suspect and a family member at 49000 E. Creek Drive, officials said. Police said the suspect, who suffered from mental illness, threatened to shoot a family member.
The family member informed police that the suspect may be armed, police said. When the suspect was spotted, he fled in a black Nissan truck, police said. The chase began on Beltway 8 and Kirby Road in southeast Houston.
KPRC 2 obtained an exclusive video of the chase. The video shows the officers telling the suspect not to move closer to his car while he had his hands raised up. Once the suspect got closer to a gray Nissan car, the video shows the suspect quickly getting and taking off.
Neighbors that witnessed the chase told KPRC 2 police chased the man around the block at least three times.
“The police were chasing him each time the last time he took off,” a neighbor said.
The suspect, later identified by authorities as 59-year-old Roy Hooks, drove southbound on the Gulf Freeway and led police to Downtown Houston.
Police said the chase was discontinued around 4 p.m. because it was deemed as dangerous as Hooks started driving down the wrong way on the streets and sidewalks, police said. Around 4:30 p.m., police resumed the chase in downtown Houston.
The chase came to an end at San Jacinto at Rusk Street when Hook’s vehicle crashed into a bus stop, police said. The suspect was taken into police custody.
Police said during the chase there were three minor accidents and that no one was injured.
Hooks has been charged with evading arrest and terroristic threat of family.
Recap of the chase below:
Houston police are involved in a chase in southeast HoustonWATCH LIVE: Houston police are involved in a chase in southeast Houston
Posted by KPRC2 / Click2Houston on Tuesday, February 4, 2020