Posted on 01/22/2008 11:00:11 AM PST by SwinneySwitch
Carjackers stole a vehicle from a woman at gunpoint and led authorities on a short, high-speed chase Monday that ended with the suspects breaking through a barrier at International Bridge I and fleeing into Mexico, police said."Once they are in Mexico – we can't go in there to get them," said Laredo Police spokesman Jose E. Baeza, noting that in the heat of the moment police had no time to call bridge officials for assistance.
Nevertheless, police are determined to find the suspects with the help of Mexican authorities.
The chase began shortly after 6:30 a.m. after a woman told police carjackers had stolen her Chevy Impala and threatened her at gunpoint in the 2500 block of E. Travis; she was not injured in the incident.
Police said the woman mentioned several men were near the scene in a vehicle that has not been recovered or identified, by police.
A lookout was placed on the vehicle and immediately an officer spotted the suspects near the bridge, police said.
"An officer saw the suspect vehicle on Hidalgo Street. He proceeded to go ahead and try to initiate a traffic stop," Baeza said. "The vehicle fled."
According to Baeza, the vehicle sped passed the tollbooth, causing minor damage, then crashed into the arm that raises once a toll is paid.
"The chase didn't last very long because he was near the bridge, anyway," Baeza said. "The vehicle, basically it just crashed its way all the way to Nuevo Laredo.
"The vehicle did succeed into fleeing into Mexico," he added.
Mucia Dovalina, chief CBP officer and uniformed public affairs liaison, said the car plowed its way past the barricades that are set up at the Bridge I site.
"The car was being chased by the police department but we didn't even get called in on it," she said. "All they (agents on duty) heard were the sirens getting closer and closer. By the time they looked out, the car had already rammed the metal."
Police think at least two or maybe three suspects were inside the stolen vehicle.
No one was injured in the incident. Baeza also noted that no police vehicles were damaged.
Laredo police are working closely with Mexican officials to try and locate the stolen vehicle across the border.
As of Monday evening, no arrests had been made.
Anyone with information should contact police at (956) 795-2800.
(Celina Alvarado may be reached at 728-2566 or celina@lmtonline.com. Ashley Richards contributed to this story.)
Correct Response: This is another example of the need to secure our borders.
Likely Main-Stream-Media/Liberal response: This is another example of the need to install ignition-killing switches in all vechiles, and give law enforcement officers the ability to turn off your car.
Maybe they need a border version of the Amber alert. As soon as a crime is committed anywhere near the border shut down all crossing, legal and illegal. Of course the Mexicans and Jorge Bush would object so that idea will never be tried.
Los dos Laredos ping!
If you want on, or off this S. Texas/Mexico ping list, please FReepMail me.
Mexico is a toilet. And I blame our government for not controlling the borders.
would a guided missle fired from our side count as pursuit?
Every car sold along the Mexican border ought to be required to have a kill-switch when it is sold. As things are now, all Texas drivers pay higher auto insurance rates because of the auto thefts in border cities.
The truth of the matter is that the Mexican police are in cahoots with the thieves. There’s a good chance in a day or three, the original owner could go find his vehicle in the local Mexican police parking lot with a light bar and decals.
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