Well here’s an untraditional father-daughter bonding activity for you: A Houston dad and his 22-year-old daughter chased down a group of burglars who had allegedly just robbed their house. And in true twenty-first century form, the terrifying car chase, which ended in a game of chicken, was all caught on a smartphone.
Kevin Smith, a plastic surgeon, was with his daughter Alana on his way home from a business trip Friday when they noticed a red pickup truck full of alleged thieves speeding out of their driveway. The family told CNN they turned their car around and started to chase the burglars not for fear of missing things, but because Alana had left her sister Kara at home on her way to the airport.
“I locked eyes on them, and their eyes were terrified. I knew that they had done something terrible,” she told CNN. “I didn’t know what happened to my sister, and I didn’t know if she was O.K. My instinct was this was my only chance to get these guys.”
And so they whipped out a smartphone to record evidence as they got into a car chase. Multiple times, the red pickup stopped and began backing into the sedan.
Alana’s voice can be heard on the tape asking, “Dad, what do I do?”
“Start it, Baby. Start it,” he responded.
The chase ended when the burglars’ truck whipped around and started heading towards the family’s car.
“It was just like in the movies,” Smith said.
Police showed up shortly after the final collision and caught two of the three men, placing them in custody.
The Smiths were also relieved to know that Kara was at the gym with her cellphone off at the time of the incident.
[CNN]
More Must-Reads from TIME
- Breaking Down the 2024 Election Calendar
- How Nayib Bukele’s ‘Iron Fist’ Has Transformed El Salvador
- What if Ultra-Processed Foods Aren’t as Bad as You Think?
- How Ukraine Beat Russia in the Battle of the Black Sea
- Long COVID Looks Different in Kids
- How Project 2025 Would Jeopardize Americans’ Health
- What a $129 Frying Pan Says About America’s Eating Habits
- The 32 Most Anticipated Books of Fall 2024
Contact us at letters@time.com