Sparks fly in early morning police chase

Is it just us, or is Houston becoming car-chase central? First there was the mid-January one that ended with a head-on crash on the Southwest Freeway, then the one where suspects threw crack on the Katy Freeway and the one where the boyfriend was the kidnapper. And early this morning, the latest high-profile chase — this time in Kingwood — involved a man who seemed determined not to stop, even with a flat tire.

The chase began around 2 a.m., when police tried to pull over a Louisiana evacuee who they say ran a stop sign, KTRK reports. The driver took off at about 50 mph and blew a tire on a curb fairly early in the chase, but that didn't stop him — he kept driving on his rims, causing damage to some roads. After about 30 minutes, the driver crashed into a ditch near Forest Cove and Red Bud, damaging a stop sign. Ironic, isn't it?

What's unusual about this chase, aside from the driver's determination, is that his wife was talking to him on his cell phone the whole time. She said he told her he was worried because cars were following him, but he didn't know who was driving — which is odd, because KHOU's raw footage of the chase clearly shows a few police cars chasing the guy with their lights flashing. Perhaps he was afraid they were from South Ridge Emergency Services, or maybe the sparks from his de-tired rims blinded him. There's no word yet on what charges the man will face.