Police said jewelry and firearms were recovered after the suspects’ car became trapped under an 18-wheeler.
PASADENA, TX — Two armed robbery suspects crashed into two 18-wheelers Thursday morning on Houston’s East Loop after fleeing a Pasadena pawn shop, leaving one suspect critically injured and another in custody, police said.
The crash followed a reported robbery at a Cash America Pawn store in the 500 block of Pasadena Boulevard. Pasadena police said the men robbed the business at gunpoint and left in a white Nissan Altima. The case quickly moved from a robbery call in southeast Harris County to a major crash scene near Interstate 610 and the Interstate 10 interchange, where traffic was blocked for hours while police, firefighters and transportation crews worked the scene.
Police said the robbery was reported around 9 a.m. Thursday. Officers arrived at the pawn shop and received a description of the suspects’ vehicle. A Pasadena patrol officer later spotted the Altima near Market Street and the East Loop. Sgt. Devin Franklund said the suspects tried to get away before the officer could start a traffic stop. “Before he could even initiate a stop or pursuit, they tried to take evasive action here, ran into an 18-wheeler, which sent them out of control,” Franklund said. Police said the car then hit a second 18-wheeler and became pinned beneath it.
Investigators said the first crash happened on or near the Market Street bridge. The Altima struck an 18-wheeler driven by Alex Flores, then went down an embankment and onto the East Loop, where it collided with another truck near the I-10 exit ramp. The driver was trapped inside the car after it became wedged under the second truck. Emergency crews worked to free him from the wreckage before he was taken to a hospital with critical injuries. Police said the passenger got out of the car, ran across Interstate 610 and was later arrested nearby with help from Houston police.
Authorities said jewelry and firearms were recovered from the Altima. Investigators expect those items to be used as evidence in the criminal case. Police did not immediately release the suspects’ names or announce formal charges Thursday night. It also was not immediately clear whether the firearms found in the car were the same weapons used during the pawn shop robbery. No other injuries were reported by police after the violent crash. Earlier traffic information from transportation officials said a possible fatality was being checked, but Pasadena police later reported that the suspects survived.
The crash shut down parts of the East Loop during the late morning commute and caused long backups around one of Houston’s busiest freeway connections. Transportation records showed the crash was verified shortly after 9:30 a.m. and cleared about three hours later. Ramps near the I-610 and I-10 interchange were blocked while crews removed damaged vehicles and officers processed the scene. The area links Pasadena, the Port of Houston corridor and northeast Houston, making even short closures disruptive for freight traffic and commuters moving through the east side of the region.
Flores, the truck driver hit in the first collision, said he worried about the people in the Altima after the crash. “I was wondering if he was okay,” Flores said. He later said he was relieved to learn the occupants had survived. Police said the second suspect’s attempt to run from the crash ended quickly. Officers searched the area after he crossed the freeway and took him into custody. The crash left the white Altima heavily damaged, with the front of the vehicle trapped under the rear portion of the second 18-wheeler.
The investigation remained active Friday. Police were reviewing the robbery, the route the suspects took from Pasadena and the chain of crashes on the East Loop. Prosecutors had not announced charges by the latest update, and police had not released the hospitalized suspect’s condition beyond saying he was critically injured.
Author note: Last updated June 19, 2026.