PN man reportedly leads cops on multi-county chase, jumps from overpass
Published 4:49 pm Friday, February 22, 2019
GROVES — A Port Neches man reportedly led police on a chase that went through three counties and two vehicle crashes before the suspect jumped from an overpass to the ground below.
The incident began around 10:25 p.m. Thursday when a Groves police officer attempted to make a traffic stop on a GMC truck near the intersection of McKinley and FM 366. The driver, whose name has not been released, reportedly fled north at a high rate of speed and the Groves officer lost sight of the truck. Police learned the vehicle was registered to Port Neches address and soon Port Neches officers encountered the man at that address and the chase began again, this time with both Groves and Port Neches police in pursuit, Groves City Marshal Norman Reynolds Jr. said.
The chase, which at times exceeded 100 mph, went through Beaumont and into Hardin County and into Lumberton.
While in Lumberton the suspect went through a neighborhood and through a field where the Groves and Port Neches police units became stuck.
The chase went to Orange County where the suspect wrecked into an Orange County Sheriff’s Office vehicle causing substantial damage then crashed into a retaining wall in Orange County. From there he exited the vehicle and jumped off the overpass — an estimated 20 feet down.
He sustained injuries from the fall and was transported to Christus St. Elizabeth Hospital in Beaumont.
The chase included law enforcement from Groves, Port Neches, Beaumont, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, Orange County Sheriff’s Office, Vidor Police Department and the Texas Department of Public Safety.
The suspect is set to face a number of charges and police still don’t know why he fled. No narcotics were found in the vehicle and he was not wanted on warrants.