FORT BEND COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) — A Florida man accused of taking law enforcement on a nearly 3-three-hour-long chase through Montgomery, Waller, Harris, and Fort Bend counties in an 18-wheeler had his first appearance in court Monday.
Christopher Lubowski, 51, is being held on a $150,000 bond in Montgomery County. He is charged with possession of meth and evading law enforcement.
Lubowski was driving a truck for a company out of Michigan at the time of the incident. On Monday, was told Lubowski’s boss was no longer with the company. Another employee cited stress.
Dash camera footage captured much of the chase, including the moment Lubowski hooked a U-turn, driving the wrong way down busy US-59 near Wesleyan and Buffalo Speedway.
“It was like something out of a movie, it was truly like something out of a movie,” said Amy Johnston who was staring down the other end of the 18-wheeler in her Jeep.
“It is a massive, massive truck,” Johnston said. “It’s driving erratically. It’s wobbling back and forth, and in that moment, I thought ‘I’m gonna die. I’m gonna get hit head-on.'”
Law enforcement believe the truck was wobbling because Lubowski was wiggling the steering wheel. Roman Forest police told they found meth inside the vehicle and a urine kit, which they believe is used to pass drug tests.
On Monday, officials said in court that Lubowski has out-of-state charges for narcotics and retail theft.
“I think it was obvious that this gentleman had to have been on something based on the way he was driving,” said Johnston. “There was no slowing down. He was barrelling toward us.”
At the last moment, Johnston said an exit opened up and she was able to swerve out of the way.
“The takeaway for me is that to me was a divine intervention,” she said.
Texas Southern senior Faith McDowell agrees with Johnston, telling, “It was nothing but God that had us in that car.”
McDowell also had to swerve from Lubowski. During the chaos, Johnston hit the sedan she and a friend were riding in.
“When the car jerked out the way [my friend] braced me and I braced him and we were like, ‘Oh, my gosh,’ hugging the wall and I’m trying to just like not panic,” McDowell said. “And then the car ended up stopping, and then after that, I just called my mom, [and] started crying.”
After Johnston and McDowell crashed, Lubowski would go on to drive through Fort Bend County before troopers with the Department of Public Safety shot his tires out.
“The fact that nobody else was seriously harmed or injured considering the way he was driving and his behavior, is truly miraculous. Life is precious,” Johnston said.
