Teens with a seven-month-old baby in their vehicle led Splendora police on a high-speed chase that ultimately ended when they crashed into a drainage canal, according to the Splendora Police Department.
At approximately 9 p.m. Saturday, a Splendora Police officer observed a vehicle driving erratically on a northbound feeder road. At one point, the vehicle crossed in front of the officer’s patrol car and nearly struck it. The officer turned on his lights and attempted to initiate a traffic stop, which the suspect vehicle disregarded. The suspect vehicle proceeded northbound on the feeder road before proceeding to US 59. The suspect vehicle got on and off the freeway several times, weaving through traffic at a high rate of speed. During the pursuit, the officer observed a female passenger, later identified as a 16-year-old juvenile, tossing narcotics and a handgun magazine out the vehicle window.
At some point, the suspect vehicle exited the roadway and rolled over before coming to a stop upside down in a drainage canal.
Following the crash, officers apprehended the juvenile female passenger and the male driver as they exited the vehicle.
It was at this point that officers discovered the female’s seven-month-old baby in a safety chair in the back seat of the vehicle. The child did not sustain any serious injuries in the crash, according to the Splendora Police Department.
After the crash, all three were taken to an area hospital to be assessed.
The driver, identified as Jose Aragon, 18, of Missouri City, was arrested and booked into jail, charged with evading arrest, possession of a controlled substance and two counts of injury to a child. Aragon has active warrants from Fort Bend County for evading arrest with a motor vehicle and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, according to the Splendora Police Department.
The female juvenile, 16, was detained and transported to the Montgomery County Juvenile Detention Center, charged with felony possession of a controlled substance and tampering with evidence.
Child Protective Services was called to take custody of the teen mother’s young child.