Raw video: Chase suspect victim speaks out | Watch Brad Woodard's 11 News report

HOUSTON — A driver led police on a high-speed chase across Houston early Monday morning for about 40 minutes.

Houston police said the chase started on Highway 290 at Fairbanks in North Houston when police tried to pull 41-year-old Thomas James Stott over for a seatbelt violation. The suspect was wanted on an outstanding felony theft warrant, according to HPD.

The silver, two-door vehicle went all the way through the Medical Center to the Bellaire area, using mostly the shoulder on the West Loop.

Stott took the Highway 59 North ramp from the Loop, then briefly went toward downtown after taking Spur 527.

But it wasn’t long before the high-speed chase returned to the freeways, this time taking Highway 59 inbound before exiting.

Officers gained some ground on the suspect as the chase went through the Galleria area, but the driver avoided police, sometimes going the wrong way down the street.

Stott did not avoid, however, a man driving his truck.

“You see it coming right at you; your heart kinda sinks, and you’re just like—you’re not sure what to feel,” victim Ronnie Hooper said. “You can’t do anything. It happened so fast that you just kinda freeze up, grab the steering wheel, and that’s about all you can do is like riding the bull: wait till it’s over.”

Hooper said his mother watched the whole thing unfold on live TV.

“He would go from one side all the way to the other, just in and out of traffic, running stop signs, turning out in front of people,” he said.

Stott eventually crashed out on Highway 59 South at Bellaire, slamming into the side of the freeway. He was treated at the scene for injuries and taken into custody.

“Anybody could’ve been walking or riding a bike, and it could have been very bad for them,” Hooper said.

But 50 minutes of drama on the freeways all because police said the suspect wasn't wearing his seatbelt?

In April, the Houston Police Department came out with a brand new chase policy.

It outlines when officers can chase a suspect, who can be involved and when a chase should be called off.

11 News asked HPD brass if that policy was followed on Monday.

"We don't always pursue public enemy No. 1 from the go. We don't necessarily know who we have until we get them stopped and then running from us is a felony in itself,” explained Capt. Bruce Williams. "It's a balancing act that we play, if I can use that term. When we can pursue and when we can't. And we're always looking at road conditions, traffic, the conditions of the police car [and] the car we're pursuing.

"All those are being evaluated when we chase someone."

So, why conduct a chase if the only known crime at the time was the lack of a seatbelt?

"We don't pursue just because someone flees. We pursue someone who might be a threat to society and we want people to stop for police and we don't want to send a message that you can run from police,” said Williams.

While HPD defended Monday's chase, a police chase review committee will now look at how officers handled the pursuit.