DALLAS — Police arrested a robbery suspect Wednesday after a nerve-wracking chase ended with a major accident before the suspect was taken down by two people he plowed into at the intersection of Abrams Road and Walnut Hill Lane.
Police said two people were transported to local hospitals in unknown condition.
The chase began at Haskell and East R.L. Thornton Freeway when the driver — later identified by police as Artrai Alexander — carjacked Drecelus Hunter's white Dodge Challenger.
"I walked up to the car and he pointed the gun at me," Hunter said, remembering what Alexander's next words were: "'Back away from the car. Yeah, I know it's your car, but back away from it!'"
With police on his tail, Alexander then led a pursuit through Northeast Dallas for about 20 minutes when the Challenger crashed into a minivan, which had stopped at a red light.
Charles Cook, his girlfriend Jessica Liesmann, and her son were in that minivan. Cook and Liesmann got out to confront the 39-year-old driver of the Challenger, who is seen trying to run away in the dramatic video recorded by HD Chopper 8.
"I heard screaming and then I heard the crash," Cook said. "By the time I turned back around, my girlfriend was already trying to get out of the car."
"All I could think about is, 'You're not getting away... you're not getting away,'" Liesmann added.
"She was yelling at the dude, 'Look what you did to my car! Look what you did to my car!'" Cook recalled. "And I could hear him saying, 'Just let me go, let me go!' And she was like, 'No, you're not going nowhere! Look what you just did to my car!'"
Cook and Liesmann grabbed Alexander and threw him to the ground, just as police arrived.
"I was yelling all kinds of things that I may not remember... but I hope he does," Liesmann said.
At a news briefing, Dallas police spokesman Cpl. Demarquis Black said a weapon was found inside the suspect's vehicle.
Police initially responded to a robbery call at Interstate 30 and Haskell Avenue. Black said the suspect appeared to be cooperating with a felony traffic stop at Forest Lane and the LBJ service road, but took off again.
Alexander faces pending charges of aggravated robbery and hit-and-run, Black said.
An investigation is ongoing.
