The Brief A driver who was found asleep at a west Houston intersection fought with officers before restarting his car and speeding off. The vehicle struck a tree, flipped, and rolled several hundred feet down Richmond Avenue, sending the driver to the hospital with major injuries. Police suspect DWI and speed played a role in the crash, but formal charges from the Harris County District Attorney's Office remain pending.



A late-night traffic stop in west Houston turned into a brief pursuit and a violent crash late Saturday, leaving a driver hospitalized with major injuries, police said.

Alleged intoxicated driver crashes

What we know:

Houston Police Department night shift officers responded to a traffic hazard at 11:30 p.m. at Fondren Road and Richmond Avenue, where a man was found asleep inside a vehicle stopped in the intersection while holding the driver's door handle.

According to investigators, officers opened the door, but the man allegedly tried to slam it shut and fought with officers as they attempted to remove him. Police reported smelling alcohol at the scene.

Although officers turned off the vehicle's engine using its push-button ignition, the driver managed to restart it, put it in gear, and drive away. Just five or six seconds later, after traveling several hundred feet, the vehicle crashed into a large oak tree along the 9200 block of Richmond Avenue, flipping and rolling before coming to a stop.

The driver, who was the only person in the vehicle, was admitted to the intensive care unit at Ben Taub Hospital. Authorities confirmed he was alive at the time of a morning media briefing. No officers were injured.

Investigators are examining whether officers were still holding the door when the vehicle sped off. Speed was confirmed as a factor in the crash, and alcohol is being investigated as a possible contributing cause.

Authorities noted that several California voter registration forms were among the items scattered across the roadway, though it remains unclear why the driver possessed them. Potential charges include driving while intoxicated (DWI), and the

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