A suspect tried to escape from police detectives conducting an undercover drug buy, only to erratically crash into multiple cars during an attempted getaway, San Diego police said.
At about 6:30 p.m., undercover SDPD narcotics detectives met with a man and a woman in the 4300 block of University Avenue. The man waited in the car while the woman approached the officers, expecting to buy drugs from them, officials said.
However, the detectives soon took her into custody. When the man saw the bust in action, he took off in his black Toyota Highlander, heading west on Wightman Street.
During the getaway, he T-boned the back of a Toyota Corolla near 41st Street. Inside the car were Theresa Sanchez, her boss and her 7-year-old daughter, who complained of back pain after the crash. All three were treated for minor injuries.
The suspect continued west and slammed into a blue Astrovan parked about half a block away from the first crash, pushing the van onto the sidewalk.
Police say the driver then ricocheted to the other side of the street, crashed onto the curb about 100 feet away and finally stopped the vehicle.
"It looked almost like a wave," said witness Carlos Cosio. "He hit those cars along the street. You can see the cars up on the sidewalk. I haven't seen anything like it."
The suspect ran away on foot north toward Interstate 15. However, police and a K-9 quickly caught up with him and took him into custody.
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"It's gnarly. It shows you just how in an instant, everything can be shaken up," said Cosio. "I'm glad everything is OK and everyone is alive."
