SAN ANTONIO – While Louie Guzman was fast asleep inside his Northwest Side home early Thursday morning, it seems criminals were at work outside, stealing his pickup.
He only learned about it after his roommate woke him up.
“He comes banging on my door saying, ‘Hey your truck’s not in the driveway.’ And I thought he was just playing a game,” he said.
Guzman would soon find out the truck theft not only wasn’t a joke, but was part of an even more serious crime.
San Antonio police say a teen who was driving it used it to purposely ram into a patrol car in a West Side neighborhood.
They say an officer had attempted to stop the pickup around 4 a.m. after seeing it speeding and running red lights somewhere in the area near Highway 90 and General Hudnell.
Instead the driver kept going until he reached a dead-end on Darby Boulevard near Niemeyer Street.
Police say the teenage boy behind the wheel then put the truck in reverse and slammed into the passenger’s side of the officers patrol car.
The officer was not seriously hurt.
All five people in the truck, two teenage boys and three teenage girls, took off running.
Officers later found all three girls hiding under a home about a block from the crash scene.
They launched a widespread search for the boys –the driver and a passenger—in the neighborhood but did not find them.
Guzman, meanwhile, was glad to find his truck was still drivable when he arrived to recover it.
He said he also was happy to know the officer wasn’t hurt.
“To think that somebody would just take advantage of a situation and do this is crazy,” he said. “But I guess that’s the times we’re living in currently.”
Police say after the teens ran off, they found a load of beer inside Guzman’s truck.
“Definitely not my beer. Not a beer drinker,” Guzman said, laughing.
Police say while it appears the suspects may have been out for a joyride, the three who are in custody are facing criminal charges.
They say the two others will face the same fate when they are caught.