DALLAS -- Spike strips and gunshots ended a dangerous police chase through five North Texas counties Thursday night.
What began as an attempted traffic stop in Rockwall just before 8:30 p.m. turned into an almost-90-minute, high-speed pursuit on southbound Interstate 35E through Rockwall, Dallas, Ellis, Hill and McLennan Counties.
The crew of a Department of Public Safety helicopter repeatedly reported near-collisions along the way, as the driver eluded officers' attempts to deflate his tires.
Spike strips finally slowed the 100-mph pursuit to speeds under 50 mph in Lacy Lakeview in McLennan County. When the driver continued on two flat tires, officers finished the job by shooting out the other two.
With that, the driver, who had thrown drugs out of the car and repeatedly drove the wrong way on freeway main lanes and access roads, finally gave up at 10:09 p.m.
ICYMI: Our friends at KCEN TV shared an interview with the man who led police on a chase from Rockwall County to a city just north of Waco Thursday night. "I was Snapchatting and Instagramming," he said.
Posted by WFAA-TV on Saturday, February 13, 2016
"I'm done with people trying to take my freedom 'cause I smoke weed. You drink; it's ten times worse," said the suspect, Jonathan Davis, moments after his arrest.
"They shot my car. I didn't know they was going to shoot at me. I was like, 'Dang, they shooting at me? I don't even got no gun,'" Davis added.
He also said he was on Snapchat and Instagram during the chase.
"This reckless, high-speed driving for this long a period of time, probably up to 100 miles, from what we understand from Rockwall, all the way to Waco, it's a very serious situation. He put a lot of people in danger," said McLennan County Sheriff Parnell McNamara.
UPDATE: It appears the chase ended in McLennan County.A police pursuit tore through Dallas in the last hour. It seems...
Posted by WFAA-TV on Thursday, February 11, 2016
