POWAY, Calif. -- A suspected drunken driver nearly hit a sheriff's patrol car on the freeway before leading deputies on a pursuit that went from Mission Valley to Poway and ended in Lakeside, a sheriff's official said Friday.

A Vista deputy in a patrol car was driving north on Interstate 15 by state Route 163 around 3:45 a.m. Thursday when he saw the suspect's vehicle weave in and out of traffic behind him, said San Diego sheriff's Sgt. Keith Griggs.

The vehicle accelerated, changed lanes and almost struck the deputy's vehicle, Griggs said. The deputy activated his emergency lights and signaled for the driver to pull over, he said.

The driver, later identified as 21-year-old Patrick Enright, stopped the vehicle in lane No. 1 on the freeway, prompting the deputy to use his public address system to order Enright to move onto the right shoulder, Griggs said.

That's when Enright pressed the gas and headed toward Pomerado Road in Poway and the pursuit began, he said.

Enright, who was driving around 50 miles per hour, ignored traffic signals and continued to plow through Poway, driving on Scripps Poway Parkway and state Route 67 before suddenly stopping his vehicle on Rio Maria Road in Lakeside, the sergeant said.

Enright, the vehicle's only occupant, was taken into custody without further incident, according to Griggs. He was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence, driving without a license, and failure to stop with a disregard for the safety of others, he said.