A routine traffic stop in central Austin turned chaotic Saturday when police say a man behind the wheel of a stolen red Chevrolet SUV drove off the road and straight toward four officers, sending them diving for their lives as the vehicle went airborne and missed one officer by about a foot. The driver, identified by police as 37-year-old Alan James Clark, allegedly ditched the SUV, ran, and was later booked into the county jail. No injuries were reported.
According to an arrest affidavit reviewed by KEYE, the incident started in the parking lot of the Baymont motel at 5816 N. IH-35, where an officer spotted Clark acting suspiciously. When the officer approached, Clark allegedly drove off in the red Chevrolet SUV. A short distance south on the service road, officers located the SUV near a separate traffic stop where four other officers were already on scene. The affidavit says Clark suddenly veered off the roadway, jumped a curb, and barreled through a grassy median directly toward the group of officers.
The affidavit says the officers “heard tires screeching and had less than a second to run out of the way,” and that the SUV “went airborne” after hitting the curb, coming within a foot of one officer, as reported by KEYE. Clark then allegedly continued driving the wrong way on Airport Boulevard, ran multiple red lights at high speed, and knocked down a street sign before abandoning the SUV on Burns Street and fleeing on foot. He now faces four counts of aggravated assault against a public servant, along with charges of evading arrest and unauthorized use of a vehicle, and is being held on a cumulative $40,000 bond.
Where he’s being held
Clark was booked into the Travis County Correctional Complex, the county’s main detention facility. The complex handles bookings and pretrial detention for Travis County, and the Travis County Sheriff’s Office site lists contact and visitation information for the facility. Family members or legal counsel with questions about custody and visiting procedures can call the complex directly or check the online inmate information pages.
What the charges mean under Texas law
Under Texas law, aggravated assault against a public servant can be charged as a first-degree felony, which carries a potential prison sentence of five to 99 years if a defendant is convicted. The statute details when a basic assault charge is elevated, including when the alleged victim is a public servant who is performing official duties. The full statutory language is available in Texas Penal Code ยง22.02…