Six killed after high-speed police chase ends in crash in League City

Luis Angel Guerrero, 13, was killed along with his parents Rafael and Alejandra Guerrero, when an alleged drunk driver slammed into their car Aug. 10, 2014 during a high-speed chase with Dickinson Police. Luis Angel Guerrero, 13, was killed along with his parents Rafael and Alejandra Guerrero, when an alleged drunk driver slammed into their car Aug. 10, 2014 during a high-speed chase with Dickinson Police. Photo: Courtesy Photo Photo: Courtesy Photo Image 1 of / 21 Caption Close Six killed after high-speed police chase ends in crash in League City 1 / 21 Back to Gallery

A brief, high-speed police chase that ended in a two-vehicle crash in League City over the weekend, killing six, has left two teenage boys without a father, mother and brother.

Rafael Guerrero, 41, and his wife, Alejandra Guerrero, 38, died Sunday when a Dodge Durango driven by a man wanted by police for drunken driving smashed into their Honda Accord at close to 100 mph, police said. The crash also killed one of the couple's sons, another relative, and the driver and passenger of the Dodge Durango.

The Guerreros' two surviving family members - Sebastian Yanez, 19, and Daniel Guerrero, 16, of Dickinson - have moved in with an aunt because they can't bear to stay in a home filled with so many memories, said Adrian Ponce, 18, a friend of Sebastian's.

"It's just the two brothers left alone," Ponce said. "To have four people wiped out from your life isn't something anyone should have to go through."

Police declined to release the name of the son who was killed Sunday night, but family friends identified him as Luis Angel Guerrero, 13. The fourth passenger was Alejandra Guerrero's brother, Gilberto Ortega Jr., 25, police said.

Ortega lived with the Guerreros, Ponce said.

The driver of the car fleeing police, Juan Garcia Ahuezoteco, 23, was wanted on a felony DWI warrant, Dickinson police Capt. J. Jaekel said Monday.

Riding with Ahuezoteco was his cousin, Alejandro Molina, whose age has not been determined, Jaekel said. Both were from League City.

'Falls on him'

The crash suddenly puts all the responsibility on the shoulders of the oldest surviving son, said Isaac Di Napoli, 18, another friend of Yanez's. "Being the oldest, it all falls on him," Di Napoli said.

To help the brothers' pay for the funeral, Ponce started a website to solicit donations: www.youcaring.com/yanezbrothers. "We figured he would need some help because the only people left are him and his brother," Ponce said. "There is no one left to take care of the house."

Di Napoli said the two friends are using social media to spread the word about the fund-raising website. As of 6 p.m. Monday, the site had raised about $250.

Ahuezoteco and his cousin were traveling in a Dodge Durango when Dickinson police tried to stop their vehicle at around 8:20 p.m. Sunday because the SUV was swerving and not using headlights, police said. The driver of the Durango fled and police gave chase at speeds up to 100 mph. The Durango struck a vehicle at the intersection of Deats and Ohio Avenue, ripping off the bumper but causing no injuries, and continued north, Jaekel said. The Durango then ran a stop sign on Ohio Street and struck a Honda Accord eastbound on FM 646 in League City. The Durango proceeded to hit a utility pole, knocking power out in the area, police said.

Police chase dangers

League City police are conducting the accident investigation but were not involved in the chase, said Officer Reagan Pena, League City police spokeswoman.

Jaekel said the chase lasted no longer than 1½ minutes. He said police review all chases to make sure that officers follow procedures.

"I don't care if they were going 5 mph for three hours, we are still going to review it," he said. A preliminary review suggests the officer who was in pursuit followed procedures, Jaekel said.

Dickinson police have an eight-page policy on vehicle pursuit that begins, "Pursuing officers and supervisors must justify their actions and, once they decided to pursue, continuously evaluate the safety of their actions."

The inherent danger of high-speed chases has caused many departments to limit their use, said Michael W. Quinn, former Minneapolis police officer and CEO of International Ethics and Leadership Training Bureau, which trains police officers. "Nationally, there is a movement to reduce police chases," Quinn said. "The odds of someone getting killed go up exponentially with speed."

'People at risk'

Many departments will allow no more than two police vehicles in a chase and supervisors call them off if they pose a threat, he said.

Quinn said it's a difficult call for the officer. "For the cop on the street, it's against all your instincts to let somebody go," he said. "Are you putting more people at risk by pursuing or putting more people at risk by letting him go?"

Staff writers Dale Lezon and Cindy Horswell contributed to this report.