SAN ANTONIO – Several household appliances that tumbled from a truck as it was being chased by a Bexar County deputy were stolen from a nearby home under construction, sheriff's officials said.
Lt. Diana Fox, of the Bexar County Sheriff's Office, said they traced the assortment of stoves, refrigerators and air conditioning units to a new, unoccupied home in the Marbach Village subdivision.
Fox said the incident began with a call around 4 a.m. Monday about a suspicious vehicle.
A short time later, a deputy noticed a truck, pulling a trailer loaded with the household appliances in the area of Loop 410 and Marbach Road, Fox said.
"Refrigerators, A/C units," Fox said. "So he turned around to attempt to conduct a traffic stop."
Instead of pulling over, the driver continued on, leading the deputy on a chase along Hunt Lane and then back to the original site.
"He wasn't really going high speeds, but enough with it being a trailer and loaded with a lot of appliances, (that he) was losing the appliances all along the roadway," Fox said.
The deputy could be heard on the police scanners, describing what was happening and talking about a refrigerator, stove and air conditioning units falling onto the highway access road.
A stove and oven were later found standing and smashed on the shoulder of the Loop 410 access road just south of Marbach.
"I can only imagine how scary it was for the officer who was in pursuit. Possibly, those appliances could have come at him," Fox said.
No one was hurt.
Fox said deputies also drove around later to make sure the fallen appliances did not cause problems during the morning commute.
The suspects' truck eventually stopped in the parking lot of a motel near the Loop 410 access road and Airlift Avenue.
A passenger ran from the scene, but the suspected driver remained and was arrested, investigators said.
Deputies and a San Antonio Police Department helicopter spent some time looking for the passenger, but he managed to escape.
Fox said the driver who was arrested also had outstanding warrants.