Suspect arrested after ramming squad car, driving into residence
Published 4:35 pm Monday, August 26, 2019
A suspect who allegedly rammed an Austin Police squad car with a pick-up truck, which he then drove into a residence, was taken to the hospital with injuries.
According to Austin Police Chief David McKichan, an officer conducted a traffic stop on a 2001 Chevrolet S-10 at about 1:50 a.m. on Saturday at Eighth Avenue and Fourth Street Southeast. While the officer was conducting a field sobriety test on the driver, the passenger, a 25-year-old male from Austin, got into the driver’s seat and backed up the truck, striking the driver and the squad car, before fleeing the scene.
Police went to the suspect’s residence and arrested him after a short foot pursuit. The suspect was transported to Mayo Clinic Hospital in Rochester after officers observed he was injured.
The suspect had driven the vehicle into a home in the 800 block of Eighth Avenue Southeast and ruptured a gas line. Police evacuated the residence and the Austin Fire Department and Austin Utilities brought the gas leak under control.
The residents of the house told police the suspect asked them to hide him. They told him no, so he broke through awning windows on their porch to escape, McKichan said.
The original driver of the vehicle was cited for driving after revocation, but declined medical treatment. McKichan said the APD have been trying to follow up to make sure he is okay.
McKichan did not release the name of the suspect as no charges have officially been filed.