Vehicle thief strikes Trooper

COLLEGE STATION – A Navasota man remains in the Brazos County Jail after he collided an alleged stolen vehicle into a Texas Department of Public Safety Trooper.

On Tuesday, July 20, at approximately 9 a.m., Navasota Police responded to a stolen vehicle report at the 1100 block of Church Street. The victim stated Edrick Peterson, 31, stole her vehicle and fled the scene. Officers entered the vehicle as stolen and began searching the area.

At approximately 10:20 a.m., Navasota Police were notified that a vehicle involved in a collision with a State Trooper’s Chevrolet Tahoe, was the Ford Focus reported stolen from Navasota.

According to DPS, Peterson was driving the Focus near Westward Ho in College Station when he drove onto the shoulder and partially in a ditch striking the DPS trooper vehicle. The Trooper was stopped on the shoulder of the roadway with his emergency lights activated assisting a stranded driver and was not inside the Tahoe during the crash. A passenger inside the DPS vehicle was a Texas Department of Transportation employee who was treated on-scene and released.

Peterson was transported to Scott & White Hospital for his injuries, then transported to the Brazos County Jail. He is charged with driving while intoxicated, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and unauthorized use of a vehicle. He is being held on bonds totaling $37,000. A warrant for Theft of a Vehicle, a State Jail Felony, was issued by Navasota Police Department.