A 19-year-old man is behind bars at Denton County Jail for allegedly getting behind the wheel while drunk. While police said they will not release the name of the driver at this time, they confirmed he faces two charges: a Class B Misdemeanor for DWI and a State Jail Felony Collision Involving Injury.
According to Flower Mound Police, the suspect crashed head-on into a vehicle at the intersection of Gerault and Flower Mound Road on Monday around 9:30 p.m.
In an email to NBC 5, Flower Mound Police said, “a caller stated she observed a vehicle run into another vehicle head-on and the suspect vehicle appeared to continuously ram the victim's vehicle. The suspect exited the vehicle and ran a short distance from the scene before stumbling and falling in the middle of the roadway.”
The manager and server from Jake’s Restaurant said they hopped over a patio fence to run after the suspect. Witness cell phone video shows a man getting out of his sedan and stumbling southbound on Gerault Road.
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“I went and chased him down. And then just made sure he was held until the police got there,” Andrew Shafer said. Shafer was just about to wrap up his shift when he noticed the crash.
"I noticed because all the customers went and looked. And so, I went out there and then I started to (record) the crash," Shafer said. "I knew it was bad because it was head on and there was a lot of smoke. He was accelerating, so he was like trying to push the car out of the way and get away. And then, he got out and stumbled."
In the cell phone footage provided by Polina Barabash, Shafer is seen wearing a green shirt. His manager who was wearing a black shirt helped chase the suspect and call the police.
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“He was just saying ‘It's okay. It's okay.’ And obviously, it was not okay,” Shafer said. “He tried to get up like a way. So, I wrapped my legs around him, and then he still tried fighting me… He had so much beer smell on his breath. It was strong.”
Shafer said he knew he could pin him down.
"I wrestled at Coppell High School for two years," Shafer said. “I put him in a move called 'The Cradle.' So, I put my hand in around his knee and then around his head, and I just put them together as tight as I could… That was the (move) I (knew) was hard to get out of if you do it right. And I needed him in a position that was hard to get out of.”
Flower Mound Police showed up within a few minutes and handcuffed the suspect.
“I told him his Uber was here,” Shafer said.
In the cell phone video, Shafer can be heard asking about his duties at work.
“I remembered that I was helping tables, and I was like, ‘Can you go check on them?’ Because I knew somebody needed, like, something. I just couldn't remember what it was,” Shafer said.
His customers were understanding. Shafer said he later got a call from the victims of the crash.
"They called the restaurant, like maybe 30 minutes after it all happened just to talk to me and let me know everything was okay," Shafer said. "They were thankful."
According to police, no injuries were reported.
