SAN DIEGO -- A 41-year-old driver who fled police Thursday in La Jolla crisscrossed the coastal San Diego area for about 45 minutes before finally pulling over in the East Village and escaping on foot, San Diego police
reported.
Patrol officers were responding to a request to check on Ahran Haugley's welfare when they found him as he sat in a parked Honda Accord in the area of Caminito Eastbluff and Via Sonoma about 5:15 p.m., police said.
Seeing police, Haugley drove off, and the officers followed and tried in vain to pull him over. Haugley is also wanted for an outstanding warrant.
Haugley then fled to the north through La Jolla, speeding and driving so recklessly that police decided to back off the chase for safety reasons, San Diego police Officer Robert Heims said.
Haugley continued to the north, at one point pulling over briefly in a commercial parking lot in Del Mar before continuing to drive in the direction of Solana Beach, police said. Near the Del Mar Race Track, Haugley turned to the east, then entered Interstate 5 and headed south as news helicopters tracked his movements from above.
Making his way through heavy rush-hour traffic and driving in a mostly safe manner, Haugley went through Carmel Valley, merged onto Interstate 805 and then entered state Route 163, police said. After crossing Mission Valley and Hillcrest, he arrived in downtown San Diego.
A police helicopter crew watched as Haugley drove on city streets for several blocks and pulled into an underground parking lot below a multi-use building in the 900 block of F Street, Heims said, adding that officers converged on the structure and found Haugley's car abandoned inside.
Police took up positions in the area and searched the building and surrounding areas for the driver, but he was not found and the search ended about 7:30 p.m., Heims said.
Haugley is white, about 5-foot-6 and around 170 pounds, according to Heims. He was last seen wearing a black hoodie and blue jeans. Haugley was heading north on 9th Avenue when he was last seen.