SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – A high-speed pursuit involving the Border Patrol ended early Tuesday morning in a crash off Interstate 805 in San Diego’s City Heights neighborhood.
At around 4:13 a.m., Border Patrol agents were chasing a car from Otay Mesa, to northbound I-805 when the vehicle exited on University Avenue and rear-ended an SUV that was not involved in the chase.
The impact caused the SUV to roll over and come to rest near a transient who was sleeping several feet away. The couple inside the SUV did not suffer any injuries.
According to the San Diego Sector Border Patrol, the agents driving with lights and sirens on first tried to stop the vehicle on State Route 11, just west of Enrico Fermi Drive, in Otay Mesa. According to Border Patrol, preliminary reports said the vehicle was suspected of smuggling.
They said the driver failed to yield, prompting the pursuit to begin and go for 21 miles before the driver crashed into an SUV at the University Avenue exit off of I-805.
ABC 10News learned the driver who led the pursuit ran after the crash.
The California Highway Patrol and firefighters responded to the scene, and the Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Professional Responsibility was notified of the incident. An investigation is underway.
No other vehicles were involved and no injuries were reported.
