SAN DIEGO (CNS) - Authorities on Thursday identified a 34‑year‑old woman suspected of stealing a trailer in Kearny Mesa and leading police on a two‑part road chase.
Patrol officers responded to the alleged vehicle theft in the 7500 block of Balboa Avenue about 7:30 a.m. Tuesday when they spotted and pulled over the late-model Toyota 4Runner the woman was using to tow the trailer.
The pursuit was interrupted by an hourlong freeway standoff that ended in the arrest of San Diego resident Xirogiannis Panayiota after she crashed the SUV while fleeing north on southbound Interstate 15, according to the San Diego Police Department.
Though she initially yielded, the woman, who had a dog in the vehicle with her, soon accelerated away, and the officers gave chase, SDPD public-affairs Lt. Cesar Jimenez said.
After the suspect entered northbound I-15, the SUV she was driving lost a rear tire, and she pulled to a stop in the middle of the freeway, the 4Runner now seemingly inoperable, according to police.
"Patrol vehicles were placed in front of and behind the vehicle as an added precaution," Jimenez said. "Officers attempted to negotiate with the driver to deescalate. However, she would not engage in conversation."
Following roughly 60 minutes of fruitless attempts to persuade the woman to surrender, officers shot tear-gas projectiles into the SUV. The suspect then managed to accelerate the vehicle in reverse, pushing the rear patrol car back several yards.
At that point, the woman drove away again, crossing a brushy roadside area to exit at Miramar Way, where she almost struck an 82-year-old pedestrian before reentering the freeway, this time heading south, Jimenez said.
A short time later, just before reaching state Route 163 in the Miramar area, the suspect pulled a U-turn and doubled back, heading north against southbound traffic, according to police.
"Due to the heightened danger of a collision, officers did not pursue the vehicle going the wrong way on the freeway," the lieutenant said.
Instead, the crew of an SDPD patrol helicopter monitored the suspect's path from above, following the SUV until it lost the trailer and then stalled on the freeway between Carroll Canyon Road and Mira Mesa Boulevard.
The woman then got out of the disabled vehicle along with the dog and made several failed attempts to commandeer occupied vehicles before being arrested, according to police.
"Officers took her into custody on the freeway, as traffic was moving at slow speeds," Jimenez said.
Paramedics transported Panayiota to a hospital for treatment of minor injuries.
She was then booked on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, carjacking, felony evading, reckless driving, multiple counts of hit and run, driving the wrong way on a highway and vandalism.
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