CHASE ENDS WITH FATALITY
Pickup driven by drug suspect slams into car
HARLINGEN — A 44-year-old woman died Thursday afternoon after the car in which she was a passenger was struck by a pickup driven by a drug suspect who was being pursued by police, a police spokesman said.
The crash occurred around noon at Ed Carey Drive and the Expressway 77/83 underpass when a blue Dodge pickup collided with a silver Nissan Altima, police said.
Police refused to release the names of any persons involved in the crash, pending an investigation.
Police Sgt. John Parrish said a man and woman were arrested at the crash scene following a police pursuit.
Parrish said marijuana and weapons were found in the truck, but he did not specify the quantity of marijuana nor the number and type of weapons that were found.
The man driving the pickup had been under surveillance by the Harlingen police Special Investigations Unit and members of the Gang Eradication Team, Parrish said.
Officers observed the pickup committing a traffic violation on New Hampshire Avenue, Parrish said, and a marked gang unit vehicle turned on its lights and siren to stop the pickup.
Parrish said the pickup driver refused to stop, drove eastbound on New Hampshire Street, then turned south onto Hale Street and turned onto Ed Carey Drive.
Officers pursued the pickup southbound on Ed Carey Drive, where the driver ran the red light at the intersection on northbound frontage road and crashed into the silver Nissan Altima, Parrish said.
The man who was driving the Altima and the woman in the car were taken to Valley Baptist Medical Center for treatment of their injuries, Parrish said. The woman was pronounced dead.
Valley Baptist Medical Center did not release information on the condition of the Altima’s driver.
According to a statement released by police, the driver of the pickup was arrested on weapons and possession of marijuana charges. The woman passenger was also arrested and is facing drug charges, police said.
The pickup driver could face additional charges pending the investigation, police said.
The police chief, in a statement, expressed the police department’s condolences to the family of the woman who died.
