A Seminole man remained in a Terry County jail charged with evading arrest — his second in two years — a day after a high-speed speed chase through two counties.
Garrett Lane Wickson, 26, was also charged with a felony count of aggravated assault against a police officer after the 20-minute chase that reached 90 mph early Saturday from Ropesville to a Brownfield neighborhood, according to Brownfield and Ropesville police.
The pursuit started about 1 a.m. just north of Ropesville in Hockley County when Ropesville Police Chief Kenny Greenlee reported witnessing a Chevrolet Suburban driving “all over the road, failing to maintain a single lane of traffic,” Greenlee said.
He said he initially suspected the driver was intoxicated.
Greenlee said he flashed his police cruiser’s lights, prompting the Suburban into a chase that would reach speeds of 90 mph south on U.S. Highway 62/82.
The Ropesville chief said he wasn’t aware during the pursuit that the Suburban’s driver, Wickson, had a felony arrest warrant out of Lubbock County in connection with a 2009 charge of evading arrest in the city of Lubbock.
Troopers with the Texas Department of Public Safety and Brownfield police laid several strips of road spikes along the Brownfield highway as Greenlee continued the pursuit.
The Suburban lost use of a front tire after running over one of the strips near Meadow.
But the chase continued, though reduced to about 60 mph, said Brownfield police Chief Tony Serbantez.
“He wasn’t outrunning anybody, he just wasn’t stopping,” he said.
The Suburban ran over another set of spikes near Brownfield before cruisers from the DPS, Brownfield police and Greenlee’s Ropesville unit followed the Suburban as it hit a curb in the 1500 block of Cactus Lane in Brownfield, Serbantez said.
Greenlee said the Suburban’s driver backed into his police car and rammed a Brownfield police unit before officers were able to remove Greenlee from the SUV.
Though no injuries were reported from the chase, Greenlee said he was evaluated for neck pain at an area emergency room. He said he was OK after the crash.
Greenlee said he was not aware of an alcohol-related charge for Wickson in regard to the chase, but said additional charges could be pursued.
