SAN DIEGO -- A California Highway Patrol officer rammed his cruiser into a SUV loaded with illegal immigrants on a freeway onramp in El Cajon to bring the vehicle to a stop, authorities said Thursday.

The officer and his partner spotted a Chevrolet Suburban speeding west on Interstate 8 and tried to pull it over around 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, CHP Officer Brian Pennings said.

The Suburban exited at Mollison Street, ran two red lights and got back onto the freeway headed east, Pennings said.

The driver then attempted to make a U-turn so that he could head west on the freeway's eastbound lanes, Pennings said.

The officer rammed his patrol car into the Suburban's driver side and shoved it across freeway lanes, pinning it against a divider before the driver could head the wrong way, Pennings said.

The move was a "legal intervention," Pennings said.

The driver and at least one passenger escaped, Pennings said.

A dozen other passengers, all illegal immigrants ranging from 20 to 36 years old, were from Puebla, Mexico and turned over to the Border Patrol, Pennings said.

The two officers in the cruiser and three people in the SUV were taken to a hospital and treated for minor injuries, Pennings said.