Suspect fleeing from Sacramento County sheriff's deputies crashes into patrol car

The Sacramento County Sheriff's Office said a suspect who was fleeing from deputies crashed into a patrol vehicle on Saturday night.

The car chase began around 9 p.m. when deputies saw a driver, near 15th Avenue and 42nd Street in South Sacramento, committing traffic violations, the sheriff's office said.

Deputies tried to pull the driver over, but the driver instead chose to flee, and during the chase, the driver allegedly turned his headlights off to try and evade deputies, the sheriff's office said.

He then continued southbound on 43rd Street and crashed into an uninvolved Sacramento police patrol vehicle after ignoring a stop sign at 8th Avenue.

The sheriff's office said the impact sent the patrol vehicle into a residential fence, and the suspect's vehicle caught fire.

The officer was not injured.

After the car caught fire, the suspect tried to run from deputies but was eventually arrested. He was identified by the sheriff's office as 33-year-old Ricky Harding.

Harding was booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail and was being held on a $500,000 bail. He has a court appearance on March 10, the sheriff's office said.