A dramatic high-speed chase in Atascosa County ended in a crash and the arrest of Angel Martinez, who officials say had warrants for various offenses.
ATASCOSA COUNTY, Texas — It started with a hunch and ended in a high speed crash.
It was a chase that began in southern Atascosa County as Friday turned into Saturday, March 13, when a deputy tried to stop a car that caught his attention.
The event was recorded by unblinking dash mounted cameras in an event that started in the tiny town of Christine.
In a post on the Atascosa County Sheriff Facebook page, officials wrote “Deputy Devorah initiated a traffic stop on a vehicle near FM 140 and Avenue E. The driver of that vehicle made the ill-informed decision to try and flee.”
Officials said the fleeing vehicle, an older model Chrysler 300, raced away at speeds of more than 100 miles per hour, sometimes traveling the wrong way, against traffic, as the driver eventually fled northbound on I-37.
An audio recording of the incident captured the moment when the deputy thought he was in grave danger. “I think he’s going to hit me!”
As the vehicle continued to speed away, DPS troopers joined the pursuit, eventually headed for the Bexar County line.
When the deputy asked to use his vehicle to bring the incident to an end, the reply on the radio came back clear: “Do not use your car as a tool…too fast speeds!”
With the dash cam system recording variable speeds of 101, 112, 88, 108 and more, other drivers on the dark highway can be seen dodging out of the way of the pursuit.
Officials said when the driver crossed the Bexar County line, a BCSO deputy stopped alongside the highway, with emergency lights flashing, and deployed spike strips to disable the vehicle and it worked, but not in the way they expected.
The speeding car can clearly be seen careening out of control and crashing into the back of the patrol vehicle, which was well off the roadway surface.
As the crash happened, a DPS trooper in close pursuit can be seen impacting the left rear section of the Chrysler.
Both the BCSO deputy and a trooper then approached the disabled car with guns drawn, screaming commands at the driver, who refused to get out of the car.
With sirens screaming, cars whizzing by and smoke rising from the crashed car, lawmen can be seen repeatedly ordering the man to surrender.
As more officers arrived on scene, a trooper with a long gun can be seen breaking the car window to gain access to the suspect, who was dragged from the car just one minute later.
Atascosa County Deputy Chief Eric Kaiser said the arrested man is 32-year-old Angel Martinez, who is from the Dallas area.
Kaiser said Martinez had active arrest warrants out of Dallas for possession of a controlled substance, possession of identifying information (fraud) and burglary of a building. Atascosa County added a felony charge of evading arrest with a vehicle.
They said Martinez will also face a charge related to crashing into the Bexar County vehicle.
Kaiser said no other vehicles were damaged during the pursuit and there were no injuries.
Martinez is being held without bond in the Atascosa County Jail.