RO police on high-speed chase

RED OAK – Red Oak police took to the streets last week – including the streets of Ferris – during a car chase that ended on South Interstate 45.

On April 22 at 3:36 p.m., Red Oak police were called to a crime in which the reporting person described as having “just observed someone driving their vehicle, which had been stolen in Duncanville on April 20.”

The stolen car was a tan 2005 Nissan Altima. The owner of the car who called the police was following it eastbound on Red Oak Road from Interstate 35E.

The chase began when Red Oak Police spotted the stolen Altima as it turned northbound on State Highway 342 and then eastbound onto Ovilla Road.

Police tried to make a traffic stop on the car with no luck. Instead, the driver, an unnamed male juvenile, fled east on Ovilla Road at a “high rate of speed” according to police.

The chase continued through Ferris, where at least three Red Oak police cars and as many unidentified police vehicles pursued the stolen car.

The driver of the stolen car continued the chase onto southbound IH45.

As the vehicle began to take exit 263A, it instead turned back onto the highway, at which time the driver lost control and the car began sliding left and right across the highway. It then struck a tractor box trailer, traveling southbound in front of the stolen vehicle and came to a stop.

Red Oak police were able to take the juvenile into custody with no further incident and no injuries.

He was charged with “unauthorized use of a vehicle and evading arrest or detention in a vehicle.”

Ferris and Palmer Police Departments along with the Texas Department of Public Safety also assisted with the investigation.

ROBBERY SUSPECT STILL AT LARGE

The day before the Red Oak car pursuit, a black male subject attempted to steal an elderly female customer’s purse in the Walmart parking lot.

The male dragged the woman to the ground during his attempt to rob her.

The incident happened on April 21 at 5:27 p.m. The suspect left the scene in an unidentified car heading toward northbound IH-35E.

Officers searched the surrounding area, but did not find the suspect or suspect vehicle.

The Red Oak Police Department has authorized a “Be On the Look Out” (BOLO) transmission to surrounding agencies in a continued effort to locate the subject.