Calif. man who fell from highway lied about being carjacked, police say

(CBS/AP) SAN MATEO, Calif. - Police are confused as to why a Northern California man who fell off an elevated freeway ramp Thursday would fabricate a story about fleeing an armed carjacker.

But that's what they say happened after the 47-year-old man, whose name is being withheld, seriously injured himself plunging from a ramp near Highway 101. Police say he told them  he was escaping from an armed carjacker around 2 a.m., reported the San Francisco Chronicle.

San Mateo police Sgt. Dave Norris said a number of police and California Highway Patrol resources were used in the investigation before the man admitted he made up the carjacking tale. The driver told police he actually ran out of gas and somehow managed to fall off the highway 101 ramp.

The man may be arrested for filing a false report, once he's released from the hospital.

"A number of police resources were expended in the course of this investigation and falsification of a police report is a crime," Norris told the San Francisco Chronicle.