Pregnant Houston woman charged with child endangerment after Interstate 45 chase

Lorrain AnnÂ Wyatt Lorrain AnnÂ Wyatt Photo: MCSO Photo: MCSO Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Pregnant Houston woman charged with child endangerment after Interstate 45 chase 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

A Houston woman accused of slamming into a motorcycle officer while fleeing from police Saturday was charged for allegedly endangering her unborn child during the high-speed chase.

Lorrain Ann Wyatt, 23, was six months pregnant when she was clocked going more than 70 mph on the Interstate 45 northbound feeder south of Robinson Road, according to Oak Ridge North Police Chief Andrew Walters. The speed limit is 45 mph on the feeder road, prompting the Oak Ridge North officer to pull up behind Wyatt and try to pull her over.

Instead, Walters said, Wyatt hopped on the I-45 northbound mainlanes and sped away. She eventually exited the freeway and made a U-turn at Research Forest Drive, Walters said.

Further south, Wyatt allegedly turned east on Lake Woodlands Drive and starting ramming vehicles stopped at the intersection of Lake Woodlands and Pinecroft Drive.

After clearing that intersection, Wyatt made another U-turn heading west on Lake Woodlands and eventually got back on to I-45 northbound, Walters said. He said the chase reached speeds up to 120 mph before making its way into New Waverly.

"She was bound and determined to not stop," Walters said. "What she effectively did was make a traffic ticket into a prison sentence."

Just as Wyatt was approaching the intersection of I-45 and FM 1374, Walters said she slammed into a motorcycle officer escorting a funeral. The officer, who works for the Patton Village Police Department, was hospitalized with a back injury, Walters said.

Wyatt made another U-turn onto the I-45 southbound mainlanes where an Oak Ridge North officer forced her off the road before she gave herself up to police, Walters said.

"In 33 minutes, she had more than ample opportunity (to stop)," Walters said. "The fact she was pregnant and endangering the baby, you'd think she'd stop."

On top of felony evading and assault charges against the Patton Village officer and other drivers, Wyatt is facing felony child endangerment charges due to her six-month pregnancy. She was taken to a hospital where doctors checked her out before her arrest, Walters said.

She is sitting in the Montgomery County Jail with more than $500,000 in bonds.