A crash near Loop 410 during a Castle Hills police operation Saturday night sparked a vehicle fire and knocked out power across a large area. Police said a female passenger was seriously injured, and the driver was arrested on a felony warrant for strangling a family member.
The incident began when a Castle Hills police detective saw a vehicle in the 1000 block of Jackson Keller Road, according to WOAI. Police said the occupants appeared to be surveilling a closed local business, and officers moved in to investigate.
Police said the driver sped north on Jackson Keller Road and lost control near Loop 410, striking a utility pole. The collision set the vehicle on fire and caused a power outage in the surrounding area. Police said sparks from the crash could be seen for a mile.
Passenger Thrown Into Windshield
Castle Hills Fire Department crews put out the vehicle fire, according to the same report. Police said the female passenger was thrown into the windshield and seriously injured. She was taken to an area trauma center, where she was receiving treatment.
Police said the driver left the crash scene on foot. A Castle Hills police detective and a patrol officer caught the driver after a foot pursuit.
Driver Wanted on Strangulation Warrant
Police identified the driver as 40-year-old Sahara Orece Deleon Greer. Officers said Greer was wanted on a felony arrest warrant for assault-family member-strangulation and had a lengthy criminal history, but did not provide further details. Police said he also faces additional felony charges stemming from the crash.
Police said Greer is being held in the Bexar County Jail on a $150,000 bond. No bystanders were injured, according to officers. Greer is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
National context on pursuit crashes
A 2017 Bureau of Justice Statistics report said 351 people died as a result of pursuit-related crashes in 2012. That national figure provides broad context, but it does not establish a local trend in Bexar County or explain this individual crash.
Part of a Wider Directed Patrol Effort
The encounter took place during what Castle Hills police call a directed patrol: detectives work covertly in unmarked vehicles overnight to identify criminal activity, apprehend offenders and deter crime before it escalates, the department said.
Castle Hills police said the patrol effort also resulted in other arrests this month, including a mail thief caught in the act and a suspected vehicle burglar. In this case, an attempted contact ended in a crash that injured a passenger and disrupted power in the area.
