Police are looking for man who led them on a high-speed chase on
Santa Teresa Boulevard from Gilroy to Morgan Hill.
Police are looking for man who led them on a high-speed chase on Santa Teresa Boulevard from Gilroy to Morgan Hill.
The chase ended about noon Friday on Creekside Court in southwest Morgan Hill. The driver of a red two-door Honda Civic abandoned the vehicle in front of a residential driveway and fled on foot minutes before police arrived.
According to witnesses, the driver of the vehicle initially fled toward an open garage attached to a home, but police did not find him in the area.
The man is described as Hispanic, about 5-feet, 7-inches tall, skinny with an athletic build, a mustache and possibly a shaved head, according to police and witnesses.
Two men who were painting a porch at one of the houses in the cul-de-sac said they heard a loud noise while they were working. When they looked up they saw the Civic screech to a halt and saw the driver run toward the house next-door to the one where they were working. They said the neighbor called police.
Five MHPD patrol officers and a Gilroy officer surrounded the Honda, whose engine was still running. At least two of the officers were carrying rifles.
The residential street parallels a creek that is overgrown with thick vegetation.
MHPD officers did not know the cause of the chase, which was initiated by Gilroy police. The vehicle may have been stolen, according to Sgt. Bill Norman, the MHPD watch commander at the scene.
Gilroy police chased the vehicle north on Santa Teresa, at one point backing off due to unsafe speeds. They caught up to the abandoned Civic after a resident of the neighborhood saw the suspicious vehicle arrive and called 911.
Police said there was a report of a similar vehicle traveling at high speeds near Fitzgerald Avenue in Morgan Hill Thursday.
A resident said she has noticed “weird stuff” happening lately in the area. About two weeks ago, Lindsay Hessling saw several police on the street investigating a report that a suspicious person was seen in a neighbor’s back yard. She also said there have been numerous vehicle break-ins in recent weeks.
