Driver dead, passenger arrested after police chase across Rockwall County ends in crash
CADDO MILLS, Texas - One person is dead, and another is charged with aggravated assault of a public servant after a driver led a Rockwall County sheriff’s deputy on a chase. The passenger allegedly opened fire on a deputy.
Surveillance and cell phone video captured the chase in action as it reached speeds in excess of 90 miles per hour. It came to an end with a crash.
The driver turned the gun on himself, according to authorities.
Investigators haven’t said whether the two suspects in this case were wanted for another crime.
It all started Monday around 9:30 p.m. in Royse City when a deputy noticed a fake paper tag.
Tuesday, crews were at the Rockwall County intersection of I-30 and FM 548 repairing power lines. In that same spot less than 24 hours before, a chase ended with a white Honda SUV wiping out electricity to nearby neighborhoods.
"About 9 o’clock at night, all the lights, and you could hear sirens everywhere. But you couldn’t see anything," said witness Anthony Frodl.
Sheriff’s deputies say the driver of the Honda refused to stop, leading deputies through a neighborhood. Surveillance video from one of the homes captured several rounds of gunshots.
During the chase, investigators say the passenger inside the Honda started shooting back at the deputy, striking the front bumper of the sheriff’s vehicle.
The deputy wasn’t injured and didn't return fire.
The passenger, now identified as 18-year-old Ezekiel Angel Hernandez, of Mesquite, jumped out of the Honda.
The driver, identified as 19-year-old Rodrigo Steven Herrera Beitran, continued north and eventually crashed out in front of the Exxon gas station, taking out multiple power poles in its way.
That's where Frodl watched multiple agencies swarm the Honda.
"I saw two helicopters and like three drones," he recalled. "There had to be at least 50 cops here. They were waiting to see what the guy was doing inside the car."
Once officers noticed the driver wasn’t moving, they dragged him out.
According to investigators, the driver had a self-inflicted gunshot wound and later died.
Cash and a firearm were found in the vehicle.