HARRIS COUNTY, Texas – A 23-year-old man was killed and his pregnant girlfriend was injured when a police chase ended in a crash early Friday.
The chase started around 12:30 a.m. when a sheriff's deputy said the driver of the Chevrolet Impala made an illegal turn on Ella. The driver allegedly refused to stop, leading the deputy on a short chase.
The suspect eventually hit a bump in the road at a high rate of speed, and the vehicle left the road and struck a large tree.
Neighbors said it sounded like an explosion.
"A boom, a real loud boom," said Pamela Rogers. "I stay right here so I could hear that booming coming from right outside the house."
The driver, 23-year-old Laranthony Moore, died at the scene. A woman in the car, who is pregnant, was taken to the hospital by Life Flight. And a male in the rear of the vehicle was taken to the hospital in stable condition.
Moore's father didn't want to believe his son was dead until he saw the body.
"I got the call when I was at work so I rushed over here to make sure it wasn't him that was laying in the street," said Lewis Jacobs. "It's painful to have to lose my son behind some bull…"
Sheriff's deputies deny claims by some at the scene that an officer struck the suspect's vehicle before he crashed.
Deputies said there were several small bags of marijuana in the vehicle, and some marijuana also flew out of the car.
Raw video: Deputies investigate chase, crash
Photos: Chase ends in fatal wreck
