Nothing says “Tuesday in the Hub City” like a casual high-speed chase through the scenic industrial vistas of North Lubbock. Around 8:30 p.m., while most of us were contemplating which fast-food drive-thru had the shortest line, 21-year-old Anthony Carlos De Le Cerda decided to spice things up by turning a routine traffic stop at North Loop 289 into a low-budget remake of Smokey and the Bandit.
Apparently, the intersection of Canyon Drive and Cesar E. Chavez Drive just didn’t have the right “vibe” for a chat with the authorities. Anthony allegedly hit the gas and led State Troopers on a grand tour of the neighborhood, eventually “stopping”—which is police-speak for getting cornered—near North Avenue S and Harvard Street. Because if you’re going to run from the law, you definitely want to do it in a part of town where the potholes are basically tactical tank traps.
While De Le Cerda was whisked away to the Lubbock County Detention Center for “Evading with a Vehicle”—a hobby we’d suggest he trade for something less likely to involve a jumpsuit, like disc golf—his female passenger was released at the scene. You have to appreciate the sheer romantic energy radiating from that car ride; nothing says “true love” like being a literal passenger to someone’s impulsive felony charges on a school night.
Fortunately, no one was hurt, which is the real miracle considering the average Lubbock driver struggles with the concept of a blinker, let alone a high-speed pursuit. Anthony is now facing the consequences of his North Lubbock tour, and the rest of us are left wondering if the “evading” was worth the price of admission to the county’s finest concrete accommodations.
Is it really a “pursuit” if you end up at the corner of Harvard and Avenue S, or is it just a very loud, very expensive way to announce you’re moving into a jail cell?
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