Texas Man's Christmas Crash Leaves Him Seriously Injured, Raises Questions About Police Response
A dramatic car crash in Pasadena, Texas, just days before Christmas has left a local man seriously injured and his future uncertain. Chris Esparza, 28, was driving home from picking up a pizza with his girlfriend when he was struck by a Pasadena police patrol car on Southmore Avenue.
Esparza claims he stopped at the stop sign before turning and did not see any police vehicles approaching. However, according to the crash report, the officer's emergency lights and sirens were turned off at the time of the collision. The officer maintained that Esparza failed to yield, but video footage shows that Esparza's vehicle was not speeding, and no police lights or sirens were visible.
The incident has raised concerns about the officer's speed and response to the situation. Esparza believes that the officer's excessive speed may have contributed to the crash. "I believe it's the police officer's fault," he said. "The officer was speeding. There were no sirens and no headlights."
According to the crash report, two possible contributing factors were listed: Code 35 - failure to yield attributed to Esparza, and Code 60 - unsafe speed attributed to the officer. However, Pasadena police initially stated that Esparza failed to yield and was issued a ticket.
Esparza is still recovering from his injuries, which include fractured ribs and a collapsed lung. He is unsure about his future and has limited legal options due to sovereign immunity, which protects officers from lawsuits while performing their duties.
The incident has sparked questions about the police response and the officer's actions on that fateful night. ABC13 has asked Pasadena police how fast the officer was traveling at the time of the crash and why her emergency lights were turned off, but they have not yet responded.
A dramatic car crash in Pasadena, Texas, just days before Christmas has left a local man seriously injured and his future uncertain. Chris Esparza, 28, was driving home from picking up a pizza with his girlfriend when he was struck by a Pasadena police patrol car on Southmore Avenue.
Esparza claims he stopped at the stop sign before turning and did not see any police vehicles approaching. However, according to the crash report, the officer's emergency lights and sirens were turned off at the time of the collision. The officer maintained that Esparza failed to yield, but video footage shows that Esparza's vehicle was not speeding, and no police lights or sirens were visible.
The incident has raised concerns about the officer's speed and response to the situation. Esparza believes that the officer's excessive speed may have contributed to the crash. "I believe it's the police officer's fault," he said. "The officer was speeding. There were no sirens and no headlights."
According to the crash report, two possible contributing factors were listed: Code 35 - failure to yield attributed to Esparza, and Code 60 - unsafe speed attributed to the officer. However, Pasadena police initially stated that Esparza failed to yield and was issued a ticket.
Esparza is still recovering from his injuries, which include fractured ribs and a collapsed lung. He is unsure about his future and has limited legal options due to sovereign immunity, which protects officers from lawsuits while performing their duties.
The incident has sparked questions about the police response and the officer's actions on that fateful night. ABC13 has asked Pasadena police how fast the officer was traveling at the time of the crash and why her emergency lights were turned off, but they have not yet responded.
! Like seriously Chris Esparza was just drivin home from gettin pizza with his GF and BAM! Cops just come outta nowhere and hit him 
I dont care about the stop sign thingy, he says it wasnt his fault 'cause the officer was movin too fast 
like what even is that?! I mean idk if u guys know Pasadena police are already gettin sued or somethin 
but Chris is still dealin with serious injuries 
fractured ribs and collapsed lung? how r we suppost 2 feel sorry 4 this cop? 
this is just great, another one of these "I wasn't speeding" vs "you were speeding" cop dramas 
... like who do we trust here? the officer's testimony or the dashcam footage? 
and what's up with the emergency lights being off in the first place? 
did they really think they could sneak up on someone without anyone noticing? 
and poor Chris, fractured ribs and a collapsed lung... can't wait to see how his life is gonna turn out 
This is super concerning... like, what even happened here? The fact that the officer's sirens and headlights were off at the time of the collision, and then claims Esparza failed to yield? It just doesn't add up. And now we're talking about sovereign immunity protecting the officer from lawsuit - it's crazy how some systems can be so stacked against victims like Chris Esparza. What if he wasn't speeding or not yielding? Maybe there was a problem with the police's comms system that led to the mix-up? The more I think about it, the more I'm convinced that something fishy went down here... 
the video footage says one thing, but the officer's side of the story is another thing altogether. and now esparza can barely breathe 
... this sovereign immunity thing is messed up too. how are they supposed to make things right when they're basically protected from lawsuits? 
...just kidding, kinda 
and yeah, it sounds like esparza had zero reason to stop, but i'm not buying the "he failed to yield" story 
...and poor guy, fractured ribs and collapsed lung? 
and then BAM, some cop runs into him like that 
.
. I don't think that's how the whole "protecting the public" thing is supposed to work 
.
It just seems like a way for cops to get away with stuff and not be held accountable 
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I mean, can you imagine being in his shoes right now? 
I hope Chris recovers quickly and gets the justice he deserves 
. His injuries sound brutal, and I hope he gets the help and recovery he needs ASAP 
#JusticeForChrisEsparza #PoliceAccountability #SpeedingIsAJeanKiller
. The speed of the responding officer can greatly impact the severity of the crash. For example, a study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) found that speeding was a contributing factor in 29% of all police-related crashes 
That was serious stuff.