IMPERIAL VALLEY: 2 Dead, 3 injured in Carjacking crash

The overturned Jeep struck a tree on Imperial Valley. The tree had to be cut away from the wreckage to extricate the passengers, 2 of whom were declared dead at the scene, and 3 injured.
The overturned Jeep struck a tree on Imperial Valley. The tree had to be cut away from the wreckage to extricate the passengers, 2 of whom were declared dead at the scene, and 3 injured.

NORTH HOUSTON – A carjacking by six youths that started at a car wash on Bammel North Houston, ended in a chase by HCSO deputies, and a crash into a tree on Imperial Valley Drive that killed two youths and injured three.

Deputies said they responded to the reports of a carjacking at a carwash near Bammel North Houston around 10 p.m. last Wednesday evening. According to investigators, a 17-year-old was washing his Jeep Wrangler when six men carjacked him. A deputy later located five of the suspects with the teen’s vehicle near Imperial Valley Drive and Greens Road, investigators said.

The deputy attempted to make a traffic stop but the suspects in the stolen vehicle failed to yield and a pursuit ensued, HCSO said.

Deputies said that the suspected getaway driver lost control of the vehicle when they passed Fairview Park Drive heading northbound on Imperial Valley Drive, which caused the Jeep to strike a tree.

Debris from a fence, the Jeep, and a tree that had to be cut down, mark the scene of the fatal accident on Imperial Valley after the carjacking chase and crash.

According to Sheriff Ed Gonzalez, four of the suspects were thrown from the vehicle. A fifth suspect was entrapped in the Jeep and pieces of the vehicle and the tree needed to be cut away to remove him, Gonzalez said.

Of the four suspects that were ejected from the vehicle, two of them were pronounced dead at the scene, investigators said. Three other suspects were reportedly transported to the hospital by ambulance. According to HCSO, one of the suspects that survived the crash is in critical condition, and two others sustained serious injuries.

Investigators said a weapon that also matched the description of the one used during the carjacking was found at the scene. “There was a weapon with an extended magazine that is protruding out of a backpack that came out of the vehicle,” Maj. Susan Cotter said.

It is unknown which suspect was driving the vehicle at the time of the crash, but Major Cotter said that if that person did survive, he may face murder charges.

Investigators are still searching for the sixth suspect that got away in the vehicle that was used to drive to the carwash at the time of the carjacking.

An ongoing investigation is underway.