HOUSTON -- When a high-speed police chase ended in a cemetery Friday afternoon police said they found a 4-year-old boy in the back seat of a stolen Dodge Charger.
The incident began after that vehicle’s owner was carjacked when he met with a prospective laptop buyer for an ad he placed on Craigslist. The man said it happened on Monday night, 20 miles away at Dairy Ashford and Westheimer.
Undercover officers said they found that vehicle and another stolen car Friday at an apartment complex in the 9900 block of W. Montgomery.
As officers approached, the suspects attempted to flee in the two stolen vehicles, police said. Police were able to block a Toyota sedan from leaving the parking lot and the passenger was arrested, but the driver escaped on foot.
Police said a person in the Dodge Charger fled the apartment complex with a 4-year-old boy inside.
Police chased the suspects through several access roads and the Dodge Charger eventually crashed into a ditch at the back end of the Paradise Cemetery, located in the 10000 block of West Montgomery.
'The car sped through the cemetery with enough speed to actually catch air coming off this access road, cause damage to the grass, and leave a trail of car parts before hitting a headstone, and making its way into the bayou," said Ricky Pedraza, with HPD.
Police said the driver got out of the vehicle and fled into the woods. The two passengers were arrested.
"Three adult males jumped out of that car,” Pedraza said. “One of them pulled a 3-to4-year-old juvenile out of that car, ran across the bayou."
The child was placed back in the care of his mother, who rushed to the scene after police contacted her. The child was taken to Texas Children’s Hospital as a precaution.
"I freaked out," his mother said. "I mean, they just hung up with me asking me for a ride."
Police said the suspects in custody likely face charges of stealing a vehicle and attempting to elude police. The driver of the stolen Charger has been identified, police said.
"The dog tracked him all the way to West Gulf Bank. We do know who he is right now," said HPD Sgt. J.W. Mccoy.
