Relatives mourn the loss of 36-year-old Joel Jusino-Bergollo who was killed when a wrong way driver crashed into him during a police chase.
DALLAS — Nothing meant more to Joel Jusino-Bergollo than unity and family. His aunt told WFAA that enlisting in the U.S. Air Force brought him from Chicago to Texas, but his four-year-old son is why he stayed.
Saturday, Fort Worth Police and their helicopter followed a man traveling in a 2024 Jeep Wagoneer on Chisholm Trail Tollway. The vehicle was reported stolen by the Chicago Police Department.
An arrest affidavit obtained by WFAA states a Texas Highway Patrol Trooper spotted the vehicle on Sycamore School Road. That is when the driver of the stolen vehicle led police on a chase traveling on Chisholm Trail to I-30, State Hwy 121 north, east on US 183 in Irving, to I-35 southbound in Dallas.
According to the affidavit, the driver reached speeds around 120 mph driving in and out of highway shoulders. Shortly after, documents showed the Trooper made a pit maneuver.
WFAA reached out to the Texas Department of Public Safety. They explained that a pit maneuver is when law enforcement uses their vehicle to make another vehicle spin out and stop, but on Saturday, the driver of the stolen vehicle kept going.
The driver began traveling the wrong way on the I-35 service road near the Inwood Road exit crashing into Jusino-Bergollo’s car. Jusino-Bergollo died from his injuries.
The suspect was identified as 35-year-old Devonte Webber. He was arrested after Fort Worth PD’s helicopter spotted him walking away from the crash site. Authorities also learned that Webber was on the run from Burleson Police earlier that day for a robbery committed at Albertsons on December 24, according to the affidavit.
Webber is charged with Evading Arrest or Detention Causing Death, Murder, Unauthorized Use of a Vehicle, and Unlawful Carrying of a Weapon.
It was hard for Jusino-Bergollo’s family to speak on camera, but they told WFAA that he is greatly missed. He was a man of service and a man of love who valued family.
Jusino-Bergollo’s family has started a GoFundMe to help bring him home to Chicago. Anyone interested in supporting can click here.