Stolen Car Driver Leads CHP On Freeway Chase; Crashes Along Highway 4 In Martinez
MARTINEZ (CBS SF) -- CHP officers pursued a driver in a stolen car 23 miles from Berkeley to Martinez Tuesday morning before the suspect crashed and surrendered, a CHP officer said.
The officers first spotted an Acura reported stolen by San Pablo police on Interstate Highway 80 near Gilman Street at about 9 a.m., CHP Officer Sean Wilkenfeld said.
The driver sped away when officers tried to stop him, then headed north on Highway 80 to state Highway 4, Wilkenfeld said.
He drove faster than 100 mph, Wilkenfeld said, but the officers stayed with him until he tried to evade them by driving in the center median near Pacheco Boulevard just past Martinez.
The median is grass and dirt there and the Acura spun out and crashed. The driver didn't hit any other vehicles and he wasn't injured, Wilkenfeld said.
The driver surrendered there and was identified as Felix Blas, 37, of Berkeley.
Blas was booked into jail on suspicion of possession of a stolen vehicle, vehicle theft, recklessly evading police and an outstanding failure to appear warrant for weapons charges, Wilkenfeld said.
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