Firefighters chase 3-wheeled SUV before DWI arrest; Vehicle found packed with volleyballs

Firefighters chase 3-wheeled SUV before DWI arrest

A Dallas man led firefighters on a slow-speed chase in a three-wheeled, smoking SUV overnight before his DWI arrest. Police later found his car full of volleyballs

DALLAS - A man led Dallas firefighters on a slow-speed chase in a heavily damaged SUV, driving on only three wheels, before being arrested for driving while intoxicated overnight Sunday, according to police.

Odd Pursuit Leads to DWI Arrest

What we know:

Dallas firefighters initially responded to reports of a smoking car and a possible fire around 2 a.m. Monday near Oak Lawn Avenue and Hi-Line Drive. They found 57-year-old James Williamson inside a white Jeep Cherokee SUV with deployed airbags and a folded front left wheel.

When the firefighters tried to conduct a welfare check on Williamson, he drove away in the damaged SUV. The firefighters called the police to help.

Williamson drove slowly, with the vehicle's front end tilting and sparks flying from the folded wheel. He drove down multiple Dallas roads, making several U-turns, before finally pulling into a parking lot on Oak Lawn Avenue. 

Williamson was detained after coming to a stop. A DWI enforcement officer conducted a field sobriety test at the scene, and the man was arrested shortly after. 

After the arrest, police discovered the SUV was filled with volleyballs.

What they're saying:

Alex Del Carmen is a criminologist at Tarleton State University who weighed in on the circumstances surrounding the bizarre chase. He said the firefighters made the right call to get police help as soon as the suspect decided to flee.

"At that point, then law enforcement comes in, and rightly so, right? And their job is to pursue the individual at that point. So you go from a medical care component to an enforcement component very, very quickly. The reason you would want law enforcement involved is because law enforcement is trained specifically to engage individuals that are fleeing from a criminal offense. Whereas firefighters would not necessarily have the equipment, the training, or the enforceability to do that," he said.