HOUSTON – Officials and residents in The Heights say a police SUV crashed through a fence and dangled over a sun ledge inside a pool at a home.
HPD says the crash happened Sunday evening at approximately 5:35 p.m. as the officer sped up to pull a driver over.
The incident played out at the corner of White Oak and Cortland.
The area is a popular stretch for traffic, not only for vehicles, but also for residents who walk the sidewalks regularly.
While nobody was walking in front of the home at the time of the incident, it is what was happening beside the home that was a different story.
KPRC 2 captured video of the HPD SUV hanging on a sun ledge connected to the family pool.
Neighbors say they were surprised and shocked and had never seen something like this happen. Many were also wondering about the officer who was limping around before being transported to the hospital with a lower leg injury, according to the Houston Fire Department. However, it was what was happening in the pool just prior to the crash that had officials saying it could have been much worse.
“We did hear from the homeowners that there were people in the spa area, just prior to it or just right around the same time but nobody was injured as far as any homeowners or individuals that lived at the house,” said HFD Senior Captain Ross Elmblad.
First responders told us the people in the spa area of the pool were children. Elmblad told us he had heard the same.
An HPD spokesperson Sunday night said the officer saw another driver driving their vehicle erratically. As they sped up to pull the vehicle over, the officer struck an SUV that was attempting to cross the street after stopping at a stop sign. The impact knocked the officer’s SUV to the side, and he sped right into the fence before he landed his front wheels in the pool.
“It’s shocking that the car didn’t hit the post or the stop sign and just went right between, right through the fence,” said Pamela Ferguson, a resident in the area.
HPD says an investigation remains ongoing.