A suspected drunk driver is in police custody after allegedly running over two pedestrians in Fort Worth on Saturday night after fleeing from a traffic stop.
29-year-old Andrew Michael Guerra is facing charges after hitting another vehicle and two pedestrians while trying to escape from the police.
Fort Worth Police stated that they first spotted a gray pickup truck with no headlights driving the wrong way down a one-way street shortly after 10 p.m.
Officers said the truck then backed up, nearly slamming into a marked police unit, and drove up onto a curb. The officers could hear the passenger telling the driver to stop.
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Based on the erratic driving of the suspect, officers attempted to initiate a traffic stop, but the driver took off, driving rapidly through the parking lot. At this point, officers were concerned that the driver was possibly intoxicated due to his reckless driving and posed a threat to the public in a busy entertainment district.
The officers observed the truck strike several curbs and nearly collide with other vehicles and at one point, officers said the truck cut in front of oncoming traffic and jumped a curb into a bank parking lot, striking a pole which destroyed the front left wheel.
Officers said despite the nearly disabled vehicle, the driver continued to flee from officers at a high rate of speed back toward a highly populated area. The vehicle then struck a pole, followed by a stopped car, and then struck two pedestrians, an adult male and an adult female, who were on the far side of the intersection.
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Police said Guerra had to be extracted from the vehicle. While police suspect he was intoxicated, he refused a field sobriety test.
Officers said the passenger in Guerra’s truck has been cooperative with the investigation and is the victim of an unlawful restraint charge as he claimed he tried to get out of the truck during the chase, but Guerra allegedly would not let him.
The man and woman who were struck in the intersection were taken to a local hospital with serious injuries, police said.
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"Our prayers go out to the victims who were injured, as well as the bystanders who saw it happen and were traumatized, Fort Worth Police wrote on social media. "Anytime innocent bystanders are injured because of someone’s reckless and dangerous actions, it hits home for all of us who just want to be able to enjoy a night out in our great city."
Police said Guerra was charged with intoxication, assault with a vehicle, evading arrest with a vehicle causing serious bodily injury and unlawful restraint. He is currently in the Tarrant County Jail, being held on $95,000 bond.
