HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Police say a young man is dead Friday morning in Buffalo Bayou near downtown Houston after a long police chase came to an end.

Houston police said officers spotted a black Kia Sorrento that had been reported stolen from Fort Worth, Texas, on Houston’s west side on Westheimer Road around 2:07 a.m.

Officers initiated a traffic stop, but the Kia reportedly failed to stop, sparking a lengthy chase.

According to HPD, the chase ended near downtown in the 400 block of Jensen Drive when the vehicle drove through a parking lot and crashed into a guardrail leading to Buffalo Bayou.

Four men between the ages of 19 and 20 got out of the Kia and ran toward the bayou. HPD said two of the suspects chose not to enter the water and were arrested.

The other two suspects jumped into the cold bayou. HPD said one immediately asked for help and told him he couldn’t swim.

Houston Fire Department officials threw him a rope and were able to pull him to shore. He was taken to the hospital in critical condition, according to HPD.

Meanwhile, officers knew the fourth suspect had jumped into the water, but quickly lost sight of him. HPD requested resources be deployed to assist in the search for the suspect.

According to police, a diving team finally found the fourth suspect dead in the water around 6 a.m.

Investigators believe all four suspects were from Fort Worth. It’s unclear what brought them to Houston.

“To be honest, when they hit the guardrail, it probably saved everyone’s life,” said Asst. said Chief Luis Menendez-Sierra. “Because if they hadn’t done that, they probably all would have driven the car into the bayou.”

Of the two suspects who did not jump into the bayou, one was charged with felony evading and the other was charged with evading on foot, according to HPD.

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