5 injured in police chase collision in northeast Houston
Five people were hurt in Houston this afternoon in a collision involving a truck that was being chased by police. The specific injuries of the five (which included a baby girl) are not currently available, however police have said none of the injuries was life threatening. The collision happened at around 2:00pm at Quitman and the Eastex feeder road. The vehicles involved in the crash were a beige truck and a station wagon/SUV.
The police chase began when an off-duty officer saw two men pull up outside Top Dollar Pawn on East Little York. The off-duty officer considered the men to be suspicious when they didn’t get out of their truck. The officer followed the truck when it left the parking lot of the pawn shop and determined the truck was stolen and the men went to the pawn shop to pawn tools they were carrying that were probably stolen also. When HPD units caught up to the officer and the truck, the activated lights and sirens and the chase was on. The truck ran a red light when it exited Quitman, colliding with a Chevrolet HHR that was headed westbound on Quitman. Emergency responders took two women and a baby from the HHR; they were taken to Memorial Hermann hospital. The fleeing thieves were taken to Ben Taub.
Unfortunately the injured occupants of the Chevy HHR will probably find themselves making an uninsured motorist claim on their own auto insurance policy (if they have that coverage) or will have to pay their own medical bills. Because the truck the thieves were driving was stolen, they were not what is termed “permissive users” of the vehicle, which in turn means the insurer of that vehicle will likely not provide coverage for the damage done by the thieves in the collision. If you have been injured due to the negligence of an uninsured motorist, call the attorneys at Smith & Hassler for a free consultation.