Driver Nabbed in 100 MPH Cross-County Chase

Several crashes including one involving a CHP cruiser were caused by the chase officials said

A police pursuit traveled across San Diego County early Tuesday with speeds reaching 100 miles per hour.

Officers say the chase began along Interstate 5 in San Diego just before 3 a.m. when a San Diego police officer heading northbound noticed a recently-reported stolen vehicle driving southbound on I-5 from the downtown area.

Not long after that, San Diego police officers tried to pull over the driver inside the white truck. The man refused to stop and led police on a chase south to Imperial Beach officials said.

Then suddenly, the driver got off the highway at Palm Avenue and and headed north on I-5 driving all the way to Camp Pendletonwhere the pursuit ended.

Speeds reached 100 miles per hour according to officials. At one point, a CHP cruiser along with three or four other vehicles collided near Las Flores and State Route 78.

The California Highway Patrol reports several other accidents that may have been caused by the high speed chase.

The CHP said the lack of traffic on I-5 actually made the situation very dangerous.

"Unfortunately when traffic is very light like that, and there are pursuits, sometimes the speeds can increase, so obviously anything like that is very unsafe," said Officer Gil Ochoa.

None of the drivers involved in the police chase were injured.

Not one, but two spike strips had to be used to stop the suspect. The first spike strip was in the Encinitas city limits area. The vehicle managed to avoid it.

The second spike strip was set near Las Flores and was successful according to Ochoa. The man behind the wheel of that stolen white truck was taken into police custody. 

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