A.D. Ibarra
-Maverick County
A high-speed chase which took law enforcement officers all over Seco Mines ended up in the Del Rio Blvd., Third Street and Ave. C area with a charcoal grey Dodge Durango halfway between a local residence and a local business establishment.
According to Chief Deputy Rick Fuentes, the persecution began in Quemado where Border Patrol units reported a suspicious vehicle traveling southbound on 277 when the driver of the truck began to flee from officials. As many as a dozen law enforcement units were in chase throughout the Dr. Gates and Barrera Street area.
Witnesses reported seeing the pickup truck speeding northbound on Barrera Street with officers behind at excessively high rates of speed causing the truck to fly into the air over the street on the intersection of Barrera and Becos Street before heading east on Dr. Gates then ending up back on Barrera where the driver took the ramp on the Veterans Loop overpass where an officer on motorcycle blocking the road caused the driver to jump the curb and make a beeline to the railroad tracks where witnesses saw the vehicle cross the tracks at least twice.
According to Chief Fuentes, the truck used the access road adjacent to the railroad tracks until arriving to the Kilowatt Street area where he got back on Del Rio Blvd. It was here when law enforcement units were able to catch up to the vehicle attempting to take a left turn on Third when it impacted a law enforcement unit causing it to ram into the fence of a nearby residence.
The driver of the pickup was taken into custody after receiving first aid for injuries sustained and was transported to the Fort Duncan Regional Medical Center for further evaluation.
When officers conducted a secondary search of the vehicle it revealed two large duffel bags containing what officers believe to be narcotics.
According to Sergeant Orlando Escareño of the Eagle Pass Police Department, an accident occurred when a passerby was trying to get a view of the crime scene when he rammed into an EPPD unit.
Escareño reminds motorists to be careful and to be prepared to stop at the scene of an accident or crime scene, to be aware of officers, units, ambulances and wreckers in the area and if you can, avoid the scene completely and find an alternate route to take.
The EPPD is in charge of both accidents while the Maverick County Sheriff's Department is investigating the drug case.