HOUSTON, Texas – A man sustained major injuries after driving away from officers and crashing into an oak tree shortly after a traffic hazard call around 11:30 p.m. last night.

According to the Houston Police Department, night shift officers found the man asleep inside his vehicle at the intersection of Fondren Road and Richmond Avenue.

The driver was holding the driver’s door handle when officers opened the door. He allegedly tried to slam it shut and fought with officers as they attempted to remove him. Officers smelled an alcoholic beverage.

Officers turned off the vehicle using its push-button ignition, but the driver restarted it, put it in gear and drove away.

About five or six seconds later, after traveling several hundred feet, the vehicle struck a large oak tree on the right side of the road in the 9200 block of Richmond Avenue. The vehicle flipped and rolled before coming to a stop.

The driver was in the intensive care unit at Ben Taub Hospital and was alive at the time of the briefing. He was the only person inside the vehicle. No officers were injured.

Investigators were still determining whether officers were holding the door when the driver drove away. Speed was identified as a factor in the crash, and alcohol was being investigated as a possible factor.

Several California voter registration forms were among the items scattered across the roadway. It was not known why the driver had them.

Possible charges include DWI. Investigators planned to contact the district attorney’s office regarding potential charges.