A driver wanted for an assault on an officer led law enforcement officials on a high-speed highway chase with several detours until his capture just north of San Diego near MCAS Miramar.
The man drove into a gas station closed for construction on Miramar Road, jumped from the cab and ran toward the food mart.
Before he could get around the building, officers with guns drawn caught up with him.
Brothers Raymond and John Soto work near the gas station and heard the commotion as the chase ended and a large group of officers surrounded the area.
“It’s unreal. All I heard is [the officers tell the suspect] ‘Get on the ground!’" John told NBC 7.
Brandon Akana was eating at a Denny's next to the gas station and witnessed the suspect being taken into custody. Akana said officers acted very quickly.
“By the time I saw what was going on, they had him on the ground in front of the mart over there, in handcuffs,” said Akana.
Riverside County deputies said the pursuit began around 1 p.m. near Norco, Calif. The truck was reported stolen and the driver was accused of assaulting an Ontario police officer, officials said.
The driver took deputies and CHP officers along a chase down southbound I-15 that included two sudden exits - once through the streets of Lake Elsinore and then through a packed gas station near Fallbrook.
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It was his third exit from the highway that brought the cross-county chase to an end.
After successfully negotiating narrow pathways with the big truck, the driver was heading east on Miramar Road and soon found himself faced with nowhere to go.
The gas station parking lot he pulled into appeared to be closed with red cones and rope blocking access.
The man decided to hop out of the truck and run under the overhang where he was apprehended.
CHP officers told NBC 7 that the suspect was bitten by a police K-9 officer and will be treated at a nearby hospital.
The man has not been identified.
CHP officers used “extreme caution” while following the large truck hauling an empty container.
The truck was “extremely heavy” and could cause serious damage to anything it strikes, according to CHP Officer Rich Murrieta.
A spike strip was attempted but failed, likely because of the driver's vantage point high in the truck cab.
Murrieta said a PIT maneuver was not an option for CHP officers.
At times, the agency pulled several patrol cars off of the pursuit, holding them back as the truck weaved in and out of traffic.
No one was injured in the chase.
Check back for updates on this developing story.
