Four teenagers died Sunday in Smith County after a police chase, which began following a reported shooting in Tyler, concluded with a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper employing a precision immobilization technique. Smith County Precinct 2 Justice of the Peace Derrick Choice confirmed the deaths of the four victims.
Justice of the Peace Choice stated that he could not release the names of those killed, citing advice from attorneys. The victims' ages range from 15 to 17 years old. Three of the teenagers were born in 2009, and one was born in 2011.
The pursuit and subsequent crash occurred near County Road 211, according to a spokesperson for Smith County Emergency Services District 2. Eastbound traffic on Highway 31 East was closed for several hours as law enforcement and first responders worked at the scene following the incident.
The chain of events began in the early morning hours of Sunday when Tyler police responded to reports of gunshots. The initial reports indicated gunfire in the 1500 block of Lake Placid Road and included a description of the vehicle suspected of involvement. Around 4 a.m. that morning, a local hospital reported to authorities that it was treating two individuals with gunshot wounds, as stated by the Tyler Police Department.
Soon after the hospital report, Tyler police officers located the described suspect vehicle. Officers attempted to conduct a traffic stop on the vehicle, but it fled the scene. This initiated a police chase that proceeded through the city of Tyler and continued onto Highway 31 East. Throughout this phase of the pursuit, the vehicle was traveling at a high rate of speed, according to the Tyler Police Department.
Once the pursuit left the city limits of Tyler, Texas Department of Public Safety troopers joined the chase. A DPS trooper then utilized a precision immobilization technique, commonly known as a PIT maneuver, to "bring it to an end," as reported by the department.
A PIT maneuver is a specific tactic employed by law enforcement officials to intentionally cause a fleeing vehicle to abruptly turn 180 degrees. This sudden turn is designed to cause the vehicle to stall and come to a stop, according to information from the U.S. Department of Justice. The use of this technique resulted in the fatal crash.
The tragic outcome on Sunday concludes a sequence of events that began with a reported shooting and escalated into a high-speed pursuit across parts of Smith County. The closure of Highway 31 East for several hours indicates the scale of the response required at the crash site.
