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Mother of HPD sergeant killed in crash
A woman now identified as related to an HPD sergeant is dead and several others were injured after two suspects ran from police in a stolen car and crashed in southeast Houston shortly after 10 in the morning on MLK near Vleet. FOX 26's Natalie Hee is at the scene with more.
HOUSTON - A woman is dead and others injured after a stolen car slammed into a group of vehicles that were stopped at a red light in southeast Houston, police say.
The crash occurred around 10:20 a.m. Thursday in the 7500 block of MLK Blvd at Van Fleet Street.
However, investigators say the incident began around 8 p.m. on Wednesday night. Kathleen Hill tells FOX 26 she was carjacked at gunpoint at the 8400 block of Monroe.
"I'm devastated. I was robbed at gunpoint from my car, and this is what it led to. This is the result," said Hill.
According to HPD Chief Troy Finner, Hill had some type of tracking system on her car from working with the dealership. Sometime Thursday morning, Hill contacted HPD.
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Finner said police then tracked down Hill's car 10 miles away on the 7800 block of Jutland. Police then attempted to arrest the two suspects, believed to be in their teens or early 20s, and armed.
Instead, investigators said the suspects sped off to the intersection of MLK and Van Fleet.
Surveillance video from a nearby gas station then captures the horrific crash as the suspects slammed into an innocent woman’s car waiting at the stoplight, killing her.
According to Chief Troy Finner, the woman was the mother of a Houston police sergeant.
"A short time ago, I met with the sergeant who, as you might expect, is in a state of shock," he says. "I ask our city to pray for him and members of his family as we seek justice in the incident."
Two others were also injured including Jose Aguilar who told FOX 26 the suspects were being chased by police.
During a news conference, Chief Finner said he believes this incident was not a policy issue, but the result of dangerous and careless suspects. His remarks come after HPD has been highly scrutinized in recent months, following several deadly high-speed chases.
"They weren’t actively pursuing this vehicle. These suspects and both of them had no regard for anybody and crashed into this lady. If you shot a gun and you fired it into a crowd, what would the punishment be? We need the same damn punishment for people who are fleeing in vehicles because it makes no sense," Finner said.
Houston police investigate a crash on MLK and Van Fleet.
Finner said he plans on addressing HPD’s police chase policy sometime early next week.
Authorities said both suspects are expected to face murder charges in this incident, but so far, no identities have been released.
Chief Finner says that the incident is still under investigation, but it doesn’t appear at this time that the officers were actively pursuing the stolen vehicle at the time of the crash and had already lost sight of the vehicle.
The police chief says he is looking into the department’s policy on pursuits.
"I will make some adjustments. But what I know from this scene right now today, it's not a policy issue. And everybody in the criminal justice system is going to have to take an active role to do their part, getting suspects in jail who need to be in jail, but also from a legislative standpoint, making sure that we understand the seriousness of people fleeing from the police," Chief Finner said. "And again, sometime at the beginning of next week, I will be addressing our policy, our pursuit, but right now I want everybody to focus in on this innocent lady sitting at a light just like any of our family members could have been doing."