Teens Driving Stolen Car Stopped After Chase

A local State Trooper recovered a missing juvenile following a vehicle pursuit that began in Fayette County.

Trooper Josh Berger was patrolling Interstate 10 on Wednesday, Feb. 21, around 4:51 a.m. when he spotted a vehicle speeding at 93 miles per hour. He tried stopping the vehicle, a silver 2008 Honda Accord, around the 666 mile marker, located about two miles west of Engle.

The driver failed to stop and continued driving westbound. Berger checked the license plate and discovered the vehicle was reported stolen out of Florida.

Berger chased the Honda into Waelder, where it exited the Interstate and headed west on Hwy. 90. The pursuit went west on Hwy. 90 through Waelder, Harwood and into Luling, where the Honda got back on the Interstate and continued west.

Gonzales County and Guadalupe County Sheriff’s deputies joined in the pursuit. Guadalupe County deputies set up a spike strip to stop the Honda. But the vehicle experienced some kind of mechanical failure and stopped just short of the spike strip.

The pursuing officers conducted a felony traffic stop and removed two occupants from the vehicle. Berger identified the female driver as 17-year-old Katara Culberth of Florida. The passenger was a 16-year-old female from Florida who had been reported as a missing person.

Both females were taken back to the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office. Berger arrested Culberth for evading arrest with a vehicle, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, possession of a controlled substance (THC oil), possession of marijuana and reckless driving.