Patton Village officer & 11 year old killed in crash after chase.
Updated 19 mins ago
CONROE, TX (KTRK) -- Two people, a Patton Village officer and an 11-year-old, were killed Sunday night in a car crash during a chase in the Conroe area. Several other people were injured.
According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, the officer, who has been identified as Patton Village Sgt. Stacey Baumgartner, was dispatched to the Valero Corner store at SH 242 and US 59.
It was reported that a man was urinating on the sidewalk and exposing himself to customers. As that Sgt. arrived on scene, the male attempted to run the officer down and the chase began of a two-door Scion TC.
They were headed west on Highway 242 from Interstate 59. At the intersection of FM 1485, the suspect ran a light and kept going. Sgt. Baumgartner followed but got T-boned by a white 1998 Chevy Suburban.
"The force from the crash forced the officer to the immediate right of the intersection and he hit a traffic light pole," said Trooper Richard Standifer with the Texas Department of Public Safety. "The SUV, after the crash occurred, due to the severe damage and the force, it was flipped. It came to rest and was upside down on the 1485 side, just off the improved shoulder."
Sgt. Baumgartner was transported to Memorial Hermann Hospital in The Woodlands with CPR in progress, but he was declared dead upon arrival. The 11-year-old inside the SUV was killed and multiple other people were transported to the hospital in serious condition.
We don't yet know what sparked the chase, but we're told the suspect returned to the scene.
"For whatever reason, he saw fit to come back. I'd like to think that's a decent thing for a person to do. The average person who evades from law enforcement rarely comes back. He did do that, I guess to check on the people who were involved in the crash, at which time law enforcement did come up to him and take him into custody," Standifer said.
The suspect was transported to jail. He now awaits charges which could range from intoxication manslaughter, intoxication assault, and murder.
We're told the deceased officer is in his early to mid-30's and has a two-year-old daughter. His wife is a dispatcher.
To learn more about Sgt. Baumgartner, his family urges you to got to his www.gofundme.com page.