HOUSTON — An 18-wheeler driver was taken into custody Wednesday after a chase and hours-long standoff on the East Freeway at Sheldon.
Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said a SWAT team had to use team tear gas, less-than-lethal weapons and verbal commands to try to remove the driver -- later identified by the sheriff as Trinidad Cutshall, 42 -- from the big rig. Still, he refused to get out, forcing a SWAT team and K-9 to pull him out.
Video from Air 11 showed Cutshall appeared to be hurt after being pulled from the truck. He was rushed to an ambulance and taken to Ben Taub Hospital for cuts to his face.
The sheriff said he would be charged with felony evading.
The videos below show how a SWAT team got Cutshall out of the big rig and into custody.
How this started
Shortly before 1 p.m., a deputy with the Harris County Sheriff's Office spotted what appeared to be a stalled 18-wheeler on the East Freeway near Freeport, the sheriff said. The deputy activated his sirens to investigate what was going on, thinking the driver may have needed some help, but the driver took off at a slow rate of speed.
The sheriff said the deputy followed behind the slow-moving 18-wheeler for some time and noticed that it started swerving in and out of multiple lanes. At this point, other law enforcement officers joined the chase. At least two spike strips were used to disable the big rig, but the driver was able to keep going.
He eventually stopped on the East Freeway at Sheldon where he refused to get out of the driver's seat.
Below is a report we did shortly after the big rig came to a stop.
Air 11 flew over the scene and saw several law enforcement officers with their guns drawn surrounding the big rig. This caused both sides of the freeway to shut down for traffic.
At one point, a police helicopter landed on the freeway and a SWAT officer was seen getting out and running across multiple lanes to get to the scene.
Shortly after 3:30 p.m., law enforcement used a device to pull the passenger door off the truck. That same device was used to rip apart the back of the cabin. That didn't phase the driver who stayed positioned in the driver's seat.
SWAT then used a K-9 officer to try and remove the driver. When that didn't work, a tactical team entered the big rig's cabin and pulled the driver out.
The sheriff said he didn't know why the driver refused to leave the big rig, but he appeared to be very impaired. Throughout the incident, the sheriff said the driver continued to try and rev the engine.
The sheriff said the container of the truck was checked and it was empty.
Once the driver was taken into custody, the big rig was taken off the freeway and all of the lanes reopened.