A San Diego man said he was "just being stupid" when he stole a California Highway Patrol cruiser and crashed it, prompting a manhunt in Fallbrook.
CHP Officer Mike Lassig said Aaron Akira Teruya, 25, was involved in a crash on the Interstate 15 in Riverside County at about 3:10 p.m. Tuesday. Witnesses say he collided with a truck pulling a trailer.
The officer on scene determined Teruya had been driving under the influence, so he arrested the suspect, handcuffing him and placing him in the front passenger seat of his CHP SUV. That vehicle did not have a cage to place a suspect in, Lassig said.
But while the officer was interviewing the other person involved in the crash, Teruya hopped in the driver's seat and took off.
"I just put the cuffs in front of me and I got it out in front, put it in gear, and then the next thing you know I was driving," Teruya told NBC 7.
The officer jumped in the tow truck that had arrived and asked the driver to chase Teruya down.
In the stolen CHP cruiser, Teruya drove south on I-15, turned westbound on State Route 76 and veered on to a dirt road east of Gird Road.
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He collided with a rock, stopping the CHP vehicle and forcing him to take off on foot, still wearing the handcuffs. San Diego County Sheriff's deputies, K9 units and helicopters were called in to help find him. Patrol vehicle GPS and a witness from a local tow company both helped locate the patrol car off State Route 76.
"He hunkered down some place in the wooded area," said Lassig. "As you can see, it's a very thick brush, tree area, but helicopters were able to pin point him eventually."
After about an hour and a half later, Teruya was taken into custody. He was taken to Southwest Jail in Riverside County and will face charges of driving under the influence, resisting arrest and stolen vehicle charges.
As he was escorted to another CHP cruiser — this one with a cage — he told NBC 7 he only had one beer and was not driving under the influence.
As for why he stole the SUV? "I was just being stupid and didn't really want to go to jail," he said.
Teruya will be booked into a Riverside County jail on charges of DUI, stealing a vehicle and resisting arrest.
