Teen driver in cuffs after high-speed chase, crash

By Breyana Segura - Chief Staff Writer | April 30, 2025

Southbound interstate racing intercepted

A Cotulla juvenile was arrested last week after he was reported traveling over 120 miles per hour without lights and crashed his car into two law enforcement patrol vehicles south of Pearsall.
The case is one of two that resulted in arrests on the weekend related to high-speed driving on the interstate through Frio County.
According to a report on the cases, Medina County deputies notified the Frio County Sheriff’s Office that six Ford Mustang cars had been seen traveling southbound on IH-35 without their headlights shortly after 11:30 p.m. Saturday, April 19.
A Frio County deputy positioned near Milemarker 106 then reported seeing a pair of the sports cars pass without lights at a high rate of speed.
According to a report on the case, the deputy’s radar clocked the vehicles traveling at speeds over 120 mph, some 45 miles over the posted speed limit. Other motorists had reportedly already called the emergency dispatch office to say they had seen sports cars passing others on the interstate at high speed.
Deputies were able to effect a traffic stop on the driver of a black Mustang. The male suspect reportedly told law enforcement he was unaware of who the other driver was and that he believed all of the drivers were traveling to Cotulla.
It was while the deputy was interviewing the driver that another deputy engaged in the pursuit of a white Ford Mustang that was traveling at speeds in excess of 120 mph near Milemarker 101.
Interception at river
Within minutes of the second high-speed pursuit, deputies noticed a red Mustang exit the interstate near Milemarker 91; the car was not illuminated. Deputies attempted to stop the driver, who was later identified as a Cotulla juvenile. The case report indicates the teen had been driving in excess of 120 mph southbound on the highway’s east-side access road.

Disregarding stop signs, the juvenile continued trying to evade law enforcement until he struck a Pearsall police patrol unit near the Frio River and the suspect’s car spun onto the roadside median. Despite the crash, however, the teen continued trying to evade capture and caused another collision when he steered his car into a county deputy’s patrol unit. The report indicates that officers were trying to block his path by surrounding the car when the second crash occurred.
The 16-year-old driver was handcuffed and transported to Frio Regional Hospital for a medical evaluation. Once cleared by hospital staff, he was taken to the Atascosa County Juvenile Justice Center without further incident.
RAN OUT OF FUEL
In the related case, officers pursued the driver of the white Ford Mustang into Dilley and west on Hwy 85, where the vehicle reportedly ran out of fuel. The high-speed pursuit had involved county deputies, the Dilley Police Department and the US Border Patrol, whose agents had seen the vehicle heading away from the interstate and begun following it.
The case report indicates that the white car had likewise been traveling without its lights.
Identified as Cotulla resident Vidal Castaneda Jr., 25, the driver was accompanied by three passengers. The county dispatch office confirmed that the suspect had two prior convictions for reckless driving. Castaneda reportedly told officers he had only stopped because he had run out of gas. The incident report shows Castaneda refused to comply with officers’ orders and had to be removed from the car. The man was transported to the Frio County Jail without further incident to face a Class B misdemeanor charge for reckless driving and a third-degree felony charge for evading arrest with a motor vehicle.