Thousands of dollars flew from an SUV window as a suspected ATM thief tried to ditch cash during a Texas police chase.
The Sept. 16 pursuit in Pearland began after police were sent to a bank around 6 p.m. over a masked man allegedly running several cards through repeated transactions. Pearland police later recovered more than $6,000.
The bank call sent officers looking for two men who left in another car and ended up in a nearby parking lot. When police reached them, the passenger got out and the driver bolted.
Police video captured money being thrown from the SUV as the chase continued.
Levon Steven Jr., of Florida, was arrested behind the wheel and booked on charges of evading arrest and tampering with evidence.
Tarvares Givens, also of Florida, was identified as the passenger and charged with failure to identify.
Both men were held at the Brazoria County Jail while Pearland police continued investigating whether fraud-related charges would be added.
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The cash dump was one of several recent pursuits that turned into violent wrecks, rescues or takedowns.
In Washington, a deputy’s speed stop became a race to pull a screaming man from a burning SUV after the driver hit 111 miles per hour and crashed into a tractor.
A Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office deputy first noticed the vehicle on State Highway 104 in Kingston around 11:30 p.m. on a Monday, when it was traveling about 20 miles per hour over the limit.
The driver did not stop. After the deputy lost sight of the SUV, tire marks and smoke led him to a yard where the vehicle had slammed into a tractor and caught fire.
Bodycam footage released by authorities showed the deputy trying to smash the driver’s side window with a flashlight while the man remained trapped inside.
“I can’t get out that way!” the man shouted.
Flames were rising from the engine area when the deputy moved to the passenger side and struck the door handle again and again with the flashlight’s edge.
A Port Gamble police officer arrived with a fire extinguisher and knocked down the flames before the deputy pulled the injured man from the wreck.
North Kitsap Fire and Rescue crews later had the man airlifted to a hospital.
He faces charges of attempting to elude a police officer and reckless driving.
In San Diego, a stolen Tesla turned a crowded boardwalk into a danger zone before bystanders chased down the man accused of driving it.
The Pacific Beach Boardwalk crash left a 25-year-old woman with a fractured spine, broken ribs and a cut that required 20 stitches, prosecutors told KNSD-TV.
Juan Antonio Gonzaba, 39, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges including assault with a deadly weapon, hit-and-run and auto theft.
Gonzaba was held without bail at the San Diego Central Jail after prosecutors pointed to what they described as his extensive criminal history.
Bystander Alex Srour was wearing smart glasses when the Tesla barreled into the pedestrian area and recorded part of the chaos.
“I hear somebody behind me just scream like, ‘Watch out.’ And then I look and there’s like a Tesla just barreling at me going like 70 miles an hour,” Srour told KABC-TV.
Srour was also hit, but he still went after Gonzaba when the suspect left the vehicle and ran through a parking lot.
“He hit my bike, and it like pushed me really, it like launched me off to the side,” Srour told KABC-TV. “People don’t expect a car to come through the boardwalk like it’s just not normal.”
Video showed Srour closing the distance on Gonzaba and shoving him as he ran, knocking him to the ground.
Deputy District Attorney Tyler Nigut told the court that the Tesla had been stolen in La Jolla before the owner tracked it on her phone and contacted police.
San Diego police later found the vehicle around 12:30 p.m. heading south on Mission Boulevard, but the Tesla raced away when officers tried to pull it over.
Officers ended the pursuit after the car hit a roadside electrical transformer, with San Diego police citing the danger to the public.
Gonzaba kept driving onto the Pacific Beach Boardwalk, where Nigut told the court pedestrians and cyclists had to dive out of the way.
San Diego police suspected Gonzaba of being under the influence. Nigut told the court Gonzaba showed signs of being under the influence of a controlled substance after his arrest, though blood test results were still pending.
No DUI-related charge had been filed.
Prosecutors said Gonzaba could face up to 24 years in prison if convicted on all charges.
Nigut opposed bail by citing convictions for assault, battery, burglary and grand theft.
He also alleged Gonzaba was on mental health diversion in three recent cases during the chase and had a history of probation violations and failures to appear in court.
