Man Crashes Stolen Pickup Truck After Leading Vidor Police on a Wild Chase

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Vidor, Texas — On Friday, August 4, 2023, around 1:00 p.m., a man called police saying he had had witnessed a man on a bicycle looking into his truck that was parked at his job on Tram Rd. in Beaumont. The man, 31-year-old Robert Tunnel got into the truck, with trailer attached, and started to drive away. The owner of the truck followed in another vehicle as he began driving eastbound on I-10. Vidor Police, along with Rose City and the Orange County Sheriff’s Department joined in the chase as speeds reached over 90mph. In the Vidor Police dashcam video, Tunnel can be seen swerving across multiple lanes of traffic, nearly causing wrecks with other drivers. As he sped away, fluid from the trailer began flying onto oncoming vehicles.

Law enforcement can be seen throwing down spike strips, only for Tunnel to dodge them with a quick lurch to the far left lane. Eventually, Tunnel lost control of the pickup truck and hit both the left and right side barriers in a two lane section of the highway, ending the chase. Officers with guns drawn and a K-9 unit nearby demanded that Tunnel surrender. Officers then pulled Tunnel out of the truck and put him on the hood of the police cruiser as they placed him in handcuffs. Tunnel was taken to a local hospital to be checked out and then transported to the Orange County Jail. He's facing charges of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle in Jefferson County and evading arrest in a motor vehicle with a previous conviction in Orange County. His bond is on hold due to his other charges.