Search fatalities

Name Not Disclosed

Age : 18

Gender : Male

Race : Unknown

Date : 05/21/2021

Location : 6000 East Hardy Toll Road, near Sam Houston Parkway

City : Houston

County : Harris

State : Texas

Agency : Houston Police Department

Officer(s) :Not Disclosed

Cause of Death : Vehicle

Event : Driver killed by police chase crash

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

REASON FOR CHASE: Houston police pursued the 18-year-old driver after his vehicle sped away as officers responded to an attempted vehicle theft at a dealership on the Eastex Freeway.
NARRATIVE:
On 05/21/2021, an unidentified 18-year-old man was killed when the gray Dodge Charger he was driving crashed and caught fire following a Houston Police Department pursuit in north Houston.
.
At approximately 3:50 a.m., HPD officers responded to a reported burglary at a vehicle dealership at 18225 Eastex Freeway. Officers initially saw a blue Dodge Challenger attempting to leave the dealership, but it was abandoned with its engine running. As additional officers arrived, a gray Dodge Charger accelerated away from a dark area across the street and police pursued.
.
The pursuit traveled north on the Eastex Freeway and then west on the North Sam Houston Tollway. Police reported speeds reaching approximately 120 mph. Officers lost sight of the Charger before the Hardy Toll Road exit and subsequently ended the pursuit.
.
A short time later, officers found the Charger crashed near the Sam Houston Parkway and Hardy Toll Road interchange. ABC13 reported that the vehicle lost control while attempting to turn toward the southbound Hardy Toll Road and struck a utility pole; other reporting described the wreckage as having crashed into a wall. The vehicle caught fire.
.
Officers pulled the 18-year-old driver from the burning vehicle. He was transported to a hospital and pronounced dead.
.
HPD's initial release stated that verification of the driver's identity was pending with the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences. Contemporary reports from the Houston Chronicle, ABC13 and FOX 26 did not subsequently identify him by name.
OFFICER BACKGROUND:
The HPD patrol officers who initiated the pursuit have not been publicly identified. HPD identified Vehicular Crimes Division Sergeant E. Fendia and Officer J. Hill as investigators of the fatal crash.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.houstontx.gov/police/nr/2021/may/index.htm
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/crime/article/Teen-18-dies-after-crashing-vehicle-following-16193801.php
https://www.fox26houston.com/news/18-year-old-man-dies-in-fiery-crash-in-north-houston
https://abc13.com/fiery-crash-police-chase-pursuit-hardy-toll-road/10672208/
https://www.nenewsroom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/NEN-2021-05-25.pdf