High-Speed Car Chase Injures One

A Wednesday morning car chase from Arroyo Grande to south county injured one man after the fleeing Ford 150 pickup truck caused a crash on Highway 101 southbound at Tajiguas between a single-occupant Volvo and an 18-wheeler big rig. The Ford’s driver, Trevor Crain, 33, of Morro Bay, was found “hanging on the side of a cliff” and armed with a knife, said CHP Officer Jonathan Gutierrez in a Wednesday press release.

At 10:41 a.m., county fire, American Medical Response (AMR), and CHP officers responded to an accident near Vista Point, said to have happened when Crain’s Ford passed the Volvo in the center divider. Occupied by one man and his dog, the Volvo “rolled several times and came to rest in the southbound lane on its wheels,” said county fire Captain Zaniboni. The driver, who suffered moderate back and neck pain, was trapped inside his car and extracted via firefighter’s “Jaws of Life” metal-cutting rescue tool. He was taken by AMR ambulance to Cottage Hospital. His dog suffered a small scratch and was treated at the Santa Barbara Humane Society.

Continuing southbound at 100-miles-per-hour speeds, Crainer exited at Fairview Avenue, said Gutierrez. The truck drove through a construction area to reenter Highway 101 northbound. According to Zaniboni, the chase ended around Dos Pueblos Canyon, shortly after CHP deployed a spike strip north of Hollister Avenue. Authorities say Crain made a left turn to cross the highway’s southbound lanes near Signal Oil. He drove through a locked fence before abandoning the Ford and running to the cliffs.

“The suspect was hanging on the side of a cliff and pulled a knife out,” said Gutierrez. After following orders to drop the knife, Crain was pulled up the cliff by rope. He was booked into County Jail.

[Editor’s Note: This story has been updated.]