North Side resident Joanie Tidwell and her family are stunned after seeing video of their stolen minivan engaged in a high-speed chase.
The video, posted to YouTube, was recorded by dashboard cameras in the patrol cars of deputies with the Bexar County Precinct 3 Constable's Office.
"It's pretty wild, and I didn't know that ‘Big Red' could go that fast or move that well," she said.
"Big Red" is the name Tidwell, her husband and their sons have given to the beloved family vehicle.
She said she had trouble believing it when the van disappeared from their driveway on Byron Street on May 21.
"I kept coming to my window and thinking, 'Is it really gone?'" she said. "I was trying to think of all the scenarios of where it could be."
One scenario that never crossed her mind was seen it in that YouTube video, speeding away from deputies.
At one point, a deputy can be heard saying that the fleeing vehicle was traveling at 90 mph.
"That (chase) wound up going through Austin Highway, down Austin Highway to Eisenhauer where they bailed out," said Constable Mark Vojvodich, Bexar County Precinct 3.
Ultimately, the video shows the van coming to a stop on a grassy area, then two men running from it with deputies on their trail.
A few seconds later, it shows the suspects being led back toward a patrol car in handcuffs.
While his deputies made the arrests, Vojvodich gives some of the credit for detecting the stolen vehicle to an Automated License Plate Reader, or ALPR.
The system uses cameras mounted on patrol cars to quickly read license plates on passing or parked vehicles.
"It automatically runs them against databases and then it alerts the officer if it has a hit," Vojvodich said.
The system usually operates automatically while deputies are performing other tasks.
Vojvodich said although it has led to the recovery of about 50 stolen vehicles so far this year, their main use for the system is to find wanted people.
"Just using ALPR, we double the number of warrants that we bring in at any given time period," he said.
Tidwell, however, said she's most impressed with its ability to find her van so soon after it was stolen.
"I think it's pretty amazing that there's just a little ‘blip' and then suddenly it's, like, ‘Hey this is a stolen car,'" she said.
Although "Big Red" was recovered, the family may have to look for alternate transportation.
The chase left the van with extensive damage.
To watch the video, click here.
For a list of recent stories Katrina Webber has done, click here.