With speeds up to 85 mph on crowded two-lane streets, Fort Worth Police said officers were hoping to keep people on foot safe Saturday night when they took off after 29-year-old Andrew Guerra who appeared to be driving while intoxicated.
“The officers observed the driver strike several curbs, nearly colliding with several other vehicles driving erratically and pretty fast,” said Sgt. Jason Spencer.
According to police, the chase began at about 10 p.m. when officers on patrol saw Guerra pull out of a parking lot without headlights and attempt to drive the wrong way down a one-way street.
Amid a lawsuit involving the department’s chase policy, Spencer declined to say whether those officers were following policy when they initiated the pursuit. He did, however, say it was approved by a supervisor.
Get DFW local news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC DFW newsletters.
“What I can tell you is that our pursuit policy looks at the danger that a driver may pose to the public based on a number of factors and that our officers always have to weigh whether letting a person escape would pose a greater danger to the public than attempting to apprehend them,” he said.
Especially, in the crowded West 7th Entertainment District.
“It is an area that the city’s placed a high priority on trying to keep everyone safe due to the number of people down there. And anytime we have someone driving recklessly or driving impaired, we recognize that that’s a very serious situation,” said Spencer.
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
Monday, police released a dash camera video that shows Guerra cutting in front of oncoming traffic before jumping a curb and striking a pole, destroying his front left tire.
Even so, the video shows Guerra continuing to speed away from police while driving on a rim until he collided with another car and two pedestrians.
Police said both an adult man and an adult woman were taken to the hospital with serious injuries.
That’s when Guerra was arrested and charged with intoxication assault with a vehicle, evading arrest, and unlawful restraint for allegedly refusing to let his passenger out of his truck.
