Murder charge filed against 18-year-old HPD say caused chase, deadly crash in SE Houston: Records

Murder charge filed against 18-year-old HPD say caused chase, deadly crash in SE Houston: Records

Brianna Willis

Sun, December 14, 2025 at 8:50 PM UTC

1 min read

Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience.

Generate Key Takeaways

An 18-year-old is now charged with murder after police said a chase with deputies led to a deadly crash in southeast Houston, records show.

According to investigators, a passenger in the suspect's car was killed.

Charging documents state Ruben Mendoza also faces a weapons charge, after investigators said he was found in a vehicle with a handgun, but jail records state he bonded out a day before the deadly crash.

The Houston Police Department said Mendoza was behind the wheel of a blue Dodge Charger on Saturday morning, leading Harris County Precinct 2 Constable deputies on a chase on and off the Gulf Freeway, ending at the intersection of Almeda, Genoa, and Clearwood.

"As they're coming through this intersection - you can see there's a dip -- they're at a high rate of speed, go airborne, they lose control, and end up crashing sideways on the driver's side into a tree," Sgt. Derrick Hall with HPD said.

Police said there were two people in the vehicle, and somehow the driver, Mendoza, is still alive.

"It's a male passenger. Unfortunately, he's deceased. We had a family member out here; she's been notified. It's just so tragic, so close to Christmas," Sgt. Hall said.

Surveillance video obtained by ABC13 shows just how fast law enforcement said Mendoza was driving, it shows his Dodge Charger zooming through the intersection.

It's still unclear if drugs or alcohol played a role in the crash.

For news updates, follow Brianna Willis on Facebook, x and Instagram.

About Our Ads

Source