A 24-year-old El Paso woman is facing multiple charges after Texas Department of Public Safety troopers say she led them on a high-speed chase down Interstate 10, hitting more than 98 mph before a tactical maneuver forced her car to stop near Fabens. Desiree Marie Castorena was taken into custody following the pursuit, which began with a stolen Jeep SUV and ended with a 15-year-old passenger being taken to a hospital for evaluation.
According to KTSM 9 News, DPS received a report that a Jeep SUV had been stolen from the Tiger Truck Stop near mile marker 87 on I-10 on September 25.
Passenger Allegedly Took the Wheel Before Fleeing Troopers
A DPS trooper first located the Jeep near mile marker 68 westbound on I-10, the station's report states. At that point, the passenger reportedly moved into the driver's seat and drove off westbound. When a trooper spotted the Jeep again near mile marker 64, it was traveling at more than 98 mph, and the driver failed to stop for a traffic stop, touching off the pursuit.
Per the same account, the driver continued west at a high rate of speed for several miles, driving erratically and exiting and re-entering the interstate — all according to DPS. The chase eventually prompted troopers to intervene directly rather than let it continue at that speed.
PIT Maneuver Brings Chase to a Stop
A DPS trooper performed a Precision Immobilization Technique maneuver, a tactic in which a pursuing vehicle strikes the side of a fleeing car to make it spin, as described by KTEP Radio. The maneuver ended the pursuit, and troopers then conducted a high-risk felony traffic stop before taking the driver into custody.
It is also a familiar tool along this stretch of border highway — on Aug. 27, DPS troopers used tire-deflation spikes to stop a stolen Cadillac CTS near mile marker 49; a passenger then stole a Chevrolet Malibu, which troopers stopped with a PIT maneuver, according to FOX 4 News Dallas-Fort Worth.
Teen Passenger Evaluated, Driver Booked in Hudspeth County
The passenger was identified as a 15-year-old girl, and she was transported to Del Sol Medical Center for further evaluation, the report notes. No injuries were reported in connection with the chase. Del Sol Medical Center is a 350-bed acute-care facility in East El Paso that operates the area's only full-service emergency department designated as a Level II Trauma Center, per the American Hospital Directory.
Castorena, identified as being from El Paso, was arrested on charges of evading arrest or detention and possession of a controlled substance, the outlet reports. She was then taken to the Hudspeth County Jail for booking. The case remains under investigation.
What Castorena Could Face
Under Texas Penal Code Section 38.04, evading arrest or detention using a motor vehicle is a state jail felony if the actor has no prior conviction under the section; it becomes a third-degree felony in specified circumstances, including a prior conviction, according to FindLaw. Separately, operating a vehicle without the owner's consent can be charged as unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, a state jail felony carrying 180 days to two years in a state jail facility, under Texas Penal Code Section 31.07.
Castorena was also charged with possession of a controlled substance.
Earlier Pursuit Near Fabens
This is not the first high-speed pursuit to play out on this stretch of highway in recent months. In August, a multi-agency chase involving state troopers and sheriff's deputies ended at a Fabens gas station after a man allegedly tried to carjack a woman.
