SAN DIEGO – Police arrested a man who may have stolen a water tanker and taken it on a joy ride before crashing into a construction site in Mission Valley Monday night.
The incident began at around 9:40 p.m. when officers responded to a report of a trespasser at a Mission Valley construction site near Interstate 805 and Friars Road. According to police, when officers arrived, the man got into a water tanker and nearly hit them as he sped away.
A brief chase ensued. It came to an end a few miles away when the suspect barreled into another construction zone in the 2300 block of Northside Drive, in the parking lot of an Ikea store.
“It was scary,” a witness told 10News. “When it hit the bank, we grabbed each other. We heard police telling the guy to come out of the truck.”
The tanker sideswiped a car, crashed into a transformer and drove through a fence, scattering pieces of metal and knocking off tree branches. He surrendered in the parking lot.
Police are investigating whether the suspect was under the influence of drugs or alcohol. His name was not immediately released.
There were no injuries.
