POSTED: Thursday, December 23, 2010
UPDATED: 4:58 pm CST December 24, 2010

SOUTH HOUSTON, Texas -- The South Houston Police Department said one of its officers opened fire on a suspect on Texas Avenue and Nevada Street Thursday.

Police told Local 2 that Officer Martin Garcia tried to make a routine traffic stop when the driver sped off and then crashed into a ditch at 7:30 p.m.

After the crash, Garcia said the driver, identified as Marvin Vega, would not show his hands and lunged at him, so the officer opened fire, shooting Vega in the shoulder.

Vega, 25, was taken to the hospital before he was hauled off to jail.

Vega was charged with evading arrest.

Garcia has been taken off patrol and assigned to administrative duty, as is standard procedure, police said.

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