A traffic stop in Atascosa County led to a high-speed chase spanning about 40 miles, resulting in the arrest of a man with outstanding warrants, deputies said.
ATASCOSA COUNTY, Texas — A traffic stop in Atascosa County turned into a multi-agency pursuit along I-37 that ended with a crash and an arrest, according to the Atascosa County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies said the chase began just before midnight when a deputy patrolling in Christine, Texas, attempted a traffic stop near FM 140 and Avenue E.
According to the sheriff’s office, the driver chose to flee the stop. With a deputy in pursuit, the suspect headed to I-37 and began driving northbound in the southbound lanes.
Authorities said the deputy did not follow directly behind the suspect on the highway and instead continued on the access road while keeping the vehicle in sight.
Within a few miles, a trooper with the Texas Department of Public Safety arrived to assist. Authorities said the suspect eventually moved to the correct side of the highway but continued fleeing northbound along I-37.
With deputies and troopers in pursuit, the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office was notified and set up spike strips near the Bexar and Atascosa county line in an attempt to stop the vehicle.
Once the chase entered Bexar County, officials said the suspect crashed into a Bexar County Sheriff’s Office vehicle. The patrol vehicle was unoccupied because the deputy had stepped out to deploy spike strips, officials said.
Authorities said the suspect’s vehicle was disabled in the crash and the driver, identified as 32-year-old Angel Martinez, was taken into custody.
According to the Atascosa County Sheriff’s Office, Martinez had active arrest warrants out of Dallas for possession of a controlled substance and fraud.
Martinez was booked into the Atascosa County Jail on the warrants and a felony charge of evading arrest in a motor vehicle, the sheriff’s office said. Additional charges out of Bexar County are pending.
Officials said no one was injured during the incident.