MORGAN HILL
– A police chase that reached speeds of 80 mph ended in a crash
at Tennant Avenue and Monterey Road involving the fleeing suspect
and another vehicle.
MORGAN HILL – A police chase that reached speeds of 80 mph ended in a crash at Tennant Avenue and Monterey Road involving the fleeing suspect and another vehicle.
The chase began before 2 p.m. Thursday, when a ranger at Mt. Madonna County Park thought he spotted someone with a weapon and called the Sheriff’s Office.
As the deputies’ pursuit of the green Chevy Tahoe, originally believed stolen out of San Jose, began, the vehicle’s right front tire was punctured.
“It was a slow-moving pursuit to begin with,” said Sgt. Dave Myers of the Morgan Hill Police Department. “As they headed this way, they picked up speed, hitting speeds of 80 mph at times. The tire (that was punctured earlier) began to disintegrate, and eventually he was driving on the rim.”
The friction of the metal on asphalt at high speeds heated up the rim, causing sparks to fly and the rim to glow red.
“It was really glowing about a mile away from here,” said Trevis, a Morgan Hill resident who did not give his last name. “We were sitting outside at the Super Taqueria when he blew by. The sparks were flying.”
The chase came to an end when the suspect apparently lost control of the vehicle at the intersection of Tennant Avenue and Monterey Road and sideswiped a white pickup. The name of the driver was unavailable, said Deputy Terrence Helm, public information officer for the Sheriff’s, because the Sheriff’s Office does not give out victim information.
The driver of the pickup appeared uninjured, authorities said.
The suspect was quickly surrounded and removed from the vehicle. Five MHPD cars were on scene, two Sheriff’s Office cars and a fire engine.
The northbound lanes of Monterey from the intersection to the Morgan Hill Animal Hospital were closed for approximately 30 minutes, when one lane was opened. Southbound lanes were closed for approximately 10 minutes, until the suspect was in custody and officers were satisfied the Tahoe was not a fire hazard.
Trevis said he walked up to the parking lot of the Rite Aid from the Super Taqueria and saw officers put the suspect into a Sheriff’s Office car.
“He kicked the window out of the car, and I got hit by the flying glass,” he said, showing a cut on his leg. “His feet were dangling out the window as they left.”
Helm reported that he still didn’t have the name of the suspect at press time.
“They had him at the substation and called an ambulance to take him to VMC (Valley Medical Center) for evaluation,” he said.
Myers said the victim’s mental competency was in question.
“It is not believed to be anything chemical involved, but strictly psychotic,” he said.
Helm said it was unknown if the suspect was injured in the accident, but he will be charged with evading arrest and hit-and-run driving.
