Report: Fort Worth police chase that killed uninvolved driver reached 100 mph
FORT WORTH, Texas (CBSNewsTexas.com) - Records obtained by the CBS News Texas I-Team show a Fort Worth police chase of a stolen vehicle that resulted in an innocent driver being killed reached speeds of 100 miles per hour.
Earlier this month, Andra Craig, 57, was killed when a Fort Worth police vehicle collided with his car at the intersection of Rosedale and Evans Ave. in south Fort Worth. The police officer involved in the crash is recovering from his injuries, according to department officials.
At the time of the crash, officers were in pursuit of a stolen vehicle. Witnesses said Craig had the green light when he entered the intersection.
While the Fort Worth Police Department has released few details on the deadly vehicle pursuit, police records the I-Team obtained from a public records request provide insight into the short yet high-speed chase.
According to police records, the incident started when one of the department's new Flock cameras altered officers in the area of a stolen purple Dodge Charger.
When officers spotted the vehicle in a neighborhood, according to the incident report, the suspects took off leading police on what turned out to be a two-mile chase.
The police report noted the officer's speed reached 100 miles an hour. A department official told the I-Team the speed on the report was an estimate. An official speed will be released once accident investigators complete their investigation. The posted speed limit on Evans Ave. is 30 miles an hour.
According to police records, the suspects "threw an AR" weapon out the window during the chase.
Also, at one point during the brief pursuit, officers deployed stop sticks deflating one of the suspects' tires but the suspects kept going.
Security camera video from a local barber shop shows the police SUV more than 12 seconds behind the stolen car less than a hundred yards before the crash at the intersection.
Two blocks north of the crash, the two men inside the stolen vehicle jumped out and attempted to flee on foot. Both were quickly caught. The 18-year-old driver faces a murder charge in Craig's death.
The Fort Worth Police Department has not said if the report of the stolen vehicle was the only reason officers engage in the high-speed pursuit.
