CHP Chases Semi Truck From Temecula to San Diego County

A semi-truck driver trying to escape California Highway Patrol officers sped from Temecula to San Diego County Friday night, with law enforcement trailing close behind.

The chase started just after 8 p.m. on Interstate 15 when another traveler reported a drunk driver behind the wheel of a southbound semi-truck.

CHP officers tried to pull the male driver over, but he refused, hitting speeds of at least 84 mph as he crossed into San Diego County. Officials identified the man only as a man in his 40s. 

Officers deployed spike strips near Gopher Canyon Road, which blew out the truck's left, front tire and slowed the chase to 40 mph. Another spike strip brought it to a halt at Pomerado Road in Rancho Bernardo.

The chase ended with bean bag shots fired at the semi's cab to draw the suspect out.

"We are going to perform a sobriety test. He was just taken into custody based upon the fact he was evading us, and as we took him into custody, he was resisting, so we put the cuffs on and put him in the back," said CHP Sgt. Brad Denham.

The suspect, a 42-year-old from Chicago, was bleeding from his left arm. Denham said he cut it on broken glass — not on the bean bags.

As he was loaded into the patrol car, the driver told NBC 7 he was sorry for the pursuit. When asked if he had been drinking, he nodded yes.

He was booked into the Vista Jail on charges of reckless driving, evading police and driving under the influence of alcohol.

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