High-Speed Chase Ends With Mud Tackle
Chase Starts In Fontana
POSTED: 12:59 pm PST December 20,
2002
UPDATED: 6:07 pm PST December 20,
2002
SAN DIEGO -- A high-speed chase through San Diego County ended peacefully Friday afternoon with the suspect wrestled to the ground by a female Border Patrol agent at the international border.
"It was a great open field tackle," 10News reporter Mark Matthews said.The chase started in the city of Fontana, Calif., in San Bernadino County, when the driver was reportedly seen throwing beer cans from the vehicle and then tried to run over a pedestrian.
The car -- with Arizona license plates -- had two people inside, 10News reported.California Highway Patrol officers began chasing the vehicle south on Interstate 15 at speeds ranging from 60 to 110 mph, and it soon became clear that the car was headed for the U.S.-Mexico border.Officers made three attempts to deploy spike strips to stop the vehicle, but each attempt failed, 10News reported.At one point, as the car passed through the City Heights area, officers accidentally deployed the spike strip on the wrong vehicle.The car made its way to Interstate 5 and down San Ysidro Boulevard, narrowly missing several pedestrians.The vehicle came to a stop at the San Ysidro Trolley stop, where the driver scrambled up a hill and over a fence toward the perceived safety of Mexico.Between him and escape, however, stood a lone female U.S. Border Patrol agent.
The suspect, a large male, attempted to slip by her but was tackled and driven into the mud by the agent. The two wrestled for a short while before the agent was able to secure a submission hold, refusing to let go as the suspect continued to crawl toward the border.After about a minute, several other officers arrived to help arrest the suspect.The other suspect was arrested where the car had come to a halt, CHP officer Phil Konstantin said.The CHP pursuit policy allows its patrol officers to make the call as to whether to maintain a high-speed chase. Generally, officers will chase a vehicle if they feel the chase would not put other drivers in any immediate danger, 10News reported.Traffic had been unusually light for a Friday afternoon.
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The car -- with Arizona license plates -- had two people inside, 10News reported.California Highway Patrol officers began chasing the vehicle south on Interstate 15 at speeds ranging from 60 to 110 mph, and it soon became clear that the car was headed for the U.S.-Mexico border.Officers made three attempts to deploy spike strips to stop the vehicle, but each attempt failed, 10News reported.At one point, as the car passed through the City Heights area, officers accidentally deployed the spike strip on the wrong vehicle.The car made its way to Interstate 5 and down San Ysidro Boulevard, narrowly missing several pedestrians.The vehicle came to a stop at the San Ysidro Trolley stop, where the driver scrambled up a hill and over a fence toward the perceived safety of Mexico.Between him and escape, however, stood a lone female U.S. Border Patrol agent.The suspect, a large male, attempted to slip by her but was tackled and driven into the mud by the agent. The two wrestled for a short while before the agent was able to secure a submission hold, refusing to let go as the suspect continued to crawl toward the border.After about a minute, several other officers arrived to help arrest the suspect.The other suspect was arrested where the car had come to a halt, CHP officer Phil Konstantin said.The CHP pursuit policy allows its patrol officers to make the call as to whether to maintain a high-speed chase. Generally, officers will chase a vehicle if they feel the chase would not put other drivers in any immediate danger, 10News reported.Traffic had been unusually light for a Friday afternoon.Copyright 2007 by 10News.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
