Suspected Drunk Truck Driver Evades Police For More Than An Hour, But There’s More

Houston, Texas – Monday night brought with it a wild and dangerous scene along the Katy Freeway in Houston.

At approximately 11 p.m. an off duty police officer called in a possible drunk driver at Queenston and Clay Road after reportedly witnessing a semi driver driving erratically. Deputies then attempted to pull the semi over, but the driver was having none of it and sped away.

The truck driver, now identified as 37-year-old Juan Manuel Rodriguez-Jimenez, was able to evade authorities for more than one hour as police deployed three spike strips during the chase. Authorities say he was traveling at speeds between 30 and 60 mph.

Rodriguez-Jimenez continued driving on the rims in a cloud of sparks until he was simply unable to do so. Deputies said the chase went from the Cypress area to Highway 290 then back to the Katy Freeway. The chase finally came to an end near Fort Bend County.

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Police officers then apprehended Rodriguez-Jimenez and also discovered a woman and two children ages 1 and 8 in the cab of the truck. Thankfully, no one was injured. Authorities have not revealed if the woman and children are related to Rodriguez-Jimenez.

Harris County Sherrif Ed Gonzalez told ABC 13, “People just need to be more responsible about their actions. It’s bad enough when it’s just a motor vehicle, but this time we’re talking about a heavy duty vehicle. It could have been very bad.” Sherrif Gonzalez also indicated that Rodriguez-Jimenez attempted to strike a deputy during the pursuit causing a minor accident.

Rodriguez-Jimenez failed a field sobriety test and is now facing several charges, including DWI with a child passenger, evading and aggravated assault.

Video report courtesy of KHOU 11/YouTube.