HARRIS COUNTY, Texas – The Harris County Sheriff’s Office said a man who was riding a dirt bike died after a crash in east Harris County.
According to Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez, the crash happened at the intersection of E. Wallisville Road and Haney Road.
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Update to crash on E. Wallisville: still preliminary, follow-up underway. The male has been pronounced deceased at the hospital. It appears that the male, riding a dirt bike, may have been followed and/or being pursued for unknown reasons by an off-duty law
— Ed Gonzalez (@SheriffEd_HCSO) January 7, 2024
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Gonzalez said the man who was riding a dirt bike was possibly being followed or pursued for reasons unknown at this time by an off-duty law enforcement officer. The officer was reportedly in a private vehicle, possibly with police lights activated.
The driver of the dirt bike reportedly hit a vehicle that was making a turn. He was taken to a hospital and later died.
On Sunday, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez told KPRC 2 that when investigators arrived at the scene, they found a private vehicle outfitted with emergency police lights.
The person driving was an off-duty Liberty County Precinct 4 reserve deputy.
According to the initial investigation, it appears that the off-duty deputy may have been in an unauthorized pursuit with the rider of the dirt bike. Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez tells KPRC 2 they’re working to confirm whether there was a pursuit.
“The person is an off-duty reserve deputy with Liberty County Precinct 4,” said Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez “And so that’s an angle we’re going to be looking at. It’s still in the preliminary stages. We’re following up. But that is something that was a part of that investigation yesterday that we thought was an interesting twist. This was an unmarked private owned vehicle. So, there were no police markings on the vehicle that we know of other than light. And so, we’re going to see if that may have played some type of factor in all of this. We’re not saying we’re at the point of saying that it did, but we are investigating it.”