HOUSTON – A woman is dead after she was hit following a police chase in west Houston, according to Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez.
Gonzalez said authorities were involved in a chase that started early Monday morning. When the vehicle came to a stop, three people jumped out and fled the scene.
Two men were quickly apprehended, but the third, a woman, ran out into traffic and was hit by a Chevy Trailblazer, Gonzalez said. The woman was pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigators said the situation started when a deputy tried to pull over a van with the suspects inside. Authorities said when he turned on his lights, the suspects fled the scene.
Investigators said the traffic stop was initiated on Highway 6, but the suspect driver hit the gas and drove to the I-10 feeder road. Deputies said a supervisor with the sheriff’s office did spike the van as it was passing by them.
Investigators said the suspects then sped onto the freeway at one point, driving against the flow of traffic, but then the tires gave out and two suspects tried to run away.
Deputies are unsure why the woman fled other than the fact that she was trying to avoid the arrest.
Fire trucks and police were blocking the road on the Katy Freeway at Park Ten. All outbound lanes in the area were blocked off as authorities worked to clear the scene.