Toddler in backseat during police chase

GEORGETOWN, Texas (KXAN) - A suspected drunk driver took police on a chase from Georgetown to Austin Monday night with a 3-year-old child in the backseat of the car.

The chase started at 9:16 p.m. Austin, Round Rock and Georgetown police all tried to stop the driver.

"The officer attempted to stop the suspect, by various means - both visual and audible - later on when he wouldn't stop for lights," said Lt. Todd Terbush, with the Georgetown Police Department. "Eventually, it was called in as a pursuit."

The driver kept going, even after hitting spike strips in both Round Rock and Austin, driving up to 72 mph just on the wheel rims.

The driver finally stopped at Ed Bluestein Boulevard near Manor Road, where the he tried to run from police.

"He gets out of the vehicle and takes off running," said Lt. Terbush. "The suspect jumps off a 8-foot barricade where he injures himself and continues to try and flee."

Georgetown police shot the suspect with the Taser three times and took him into custody.

Inside the vehicle they found Garza's 3-year-old son.

"If they would have known there was a 3-year-old kid in the back seat of the car, they would not have pursued," said Lt. Terbush. "They would not have put a child in jeopardy or anything of that nature. That was a total surprise that there was a 3-year-old in the back of that car."

The suspect, Timmy Ray Garza, 25, was wanted by Austin police for a prior family-violence charge.

Garza is now charged with driving while intoxicated with a child under 15 years old. Four other charges were filed against Garza to include endangering a child, along with two counts of evading and resisting arrest.

Child Protective Services is investigating the case and has placed the child with his great uncle. The child's mother was at home at the time of the pursuit.