SAN DIEGO -- A woman driving a stolen car tried to run a deputy off the road late Monday afternoon while leading authorities on a meandering 20-minute chase that ended with her arrest.

The suspected auto-thief refused to yield to a deputy who tried to pull her over in the area of Broadway and Olive Street in Lemon Grove shortly before 5 p.m., Lt. Mike Munsey said.

While fleeing, the woman steered the gray Toyota sedan she was driving directly at a pursuing sheriff's cruiser, forcing him to veer out of the way, according to Munsey.

She then drove to the west into San Diego on state Route 94, merged onto Interstate 805 and exited at Home Avenue in the Gateway area. After the chase had gone on for about five minutes, deputies backed off for safety reasons.

A short time later, another deputy spotted the stolen car amid slow eastbound rush-hour traffic on state Route 94 and began tailing it from a distance. As the woman entered La Mesa on Interstate 8, the California Highway Patrol took over the chase, aided by a sheriff's helicopter crew tracking the driver from above, Munsey said.

The woman soon exited the freeway in nearby El Cajon and drove for a few more miles before pulling over at Mollison and East Washington avenues. There, CHP officers took her into custody.

The woman, whose name was not immediately available, will likely be booked into county jail on suspicion of auto theft, possession of stolen property, evading arrest and assault with a deadly weapon, Munsey said.