Three Hurt In Violent Crash After High Speed Chase

A high-speed chase that began Monday afternoon on Highway 101 — and was punctuated by a violent collision at the corner of Arrellaga and De La Vina streets that injured two men and a child — ended with the suspect chased down on foot and arrested near the corner of Victoria and De La Vina streets.

The pursuit started around 4 p.m. when Sheriff’s deputies attempted to pull over a truck stolen out of Ventura, but the driver accelerated to a high speed and attempted to evade pursuing authorities, which soon included a County Air Support helicopter. According to witnesses at the scene of the accident, the driver exited at Arrellaga Street and ran the stop signs at both Bath and De La Vina streets, then broadsided a Jeep traveling southbound on De La Vina and also hit a Honda CRV.

The collision sent the Jeep careening over the sidewalk and into the yard of a nearby home — the male driver would be extricated from the wreck with what appeared to be moderate to serious injuries — and spun the suspect’s truck 180 degrees so that it ended up in the middle of the road facing the wrong direction. The male driver of the Honda CRV was also taken away in a stretcher. The exact extent of their injuries are unclear.

According to a witness named Taryn, who was heading eastbound on Arrellaga and had stopped at De La Vina, the suspect’s car went flying by her — missing her SUV by inches — with multiple Sheriff’s vehicles following closely behind. She watched in shock as the truck smashed into the Jeep, and said mere seconds after the truck came to rest the male driver jumped out, hesitated for a moment, then took off running down De La Vina Street. Taryn, who was on her way to a dentist appointment, said the man appeared frantic and disorientated, speculating he was under the influence of drugs or alcohol. As Sheriff’s deputies and SBPD officers later collected evidence from the scene, they could be seen removing alcohol and juice bottles from the truck.

Taryn said that as a deputy hopped out of his cruiser and gave chase, another deputy drew his weapon and ordered the truck’s female passenger — who was identified as the driver’s girlfriend — to the ground. Not long after, Taryn went on, two young boys were removed from the back seat of the truck. One, six years old, was injured; the other, fours year old, was not hurt. The suspect reportedly jumped a number of fences and ran through a handful of yards before he was taken down near Victoria Street.

The suspect, who has not been publicly identified, was taken into custody on a number of charges, including child endangerment, evading authorities, and possession of stolen property. Sheriff’s spokesperson Kelly Hoover said more information on the suspect and the incident will be released shortly.