Woman hijacks highway patrol car
Cat and mouse pursuit ends in ditch off Stoneridge Drive
by Janet Pelletier
Pleasanton Weekly Staff
A woman hijacked a California Highway Patrol car in Sunol at 3:40 Monday afternoon, leading sheriff's deputies on a high speed chase on northbound Interstate 680 until she flipped the patrol car over in an embankment near the Stoneridge Drive exit, according to authorities.
The woman had been the passenger in an Acura Integra traveling on the freeway that a highway patrol car signaled to pull over in Fremont. Instead of pulling over, the male driver continued driving at about 70 to 80 miles per hour and then suddenly exited off the Calaveras Road exit in Sunol, according to CHP spokesman Steve Creel.
Sheriff's deputies then used a maneuver with the patrol car to stop the vehicle, which worked, but then both the driver and the passenger fled the scene. Creel said deputies tasered the woman, estimated to be in her late teens, early 20s and Hispanic, put her in handcuffs and sat her in the backseat of the patrol car.
Meanwhile, deputies pursued the driver on foot. During that time, the woman was able to somehow wiggle her arms in front of her, hopped into the driver's seat of the patrol car and sped off, hightailing it on 680 north into Pleasanton, Creel said.
Sheriff's deputies followed the hijacked patrol car north until the woman swung across all lanes in an attempt to exit at Stoneridge Drive and flipped the car into a ditch just before the off-ramp. She got out of the car and started running, but a deputy was able to apprehend her after tasering her. Both the man, also estimated to be in his late teens, early 20s and Hispanic, and the woman were taken to ValleyCare Medical Center for evaluation, released, and taken to Santa Rita Jail.
Creel said the incident, which snarled traffic in both directions of 680, was extremely unusual.
"What was unique was the aggressiveness displayed by both, so we're looking into their backgrounds to see if they have any prior records," Creel said.
No other cars were involved in the incident and authorities are investigating how the woman was able to escape. The names of the suspects have not been released.
Cat and mouse pursuit ends in ditch off Stoneridge Drive
by Janet Pelletier
Pleasanton Weekly Staff
A woman hijacked a California Highway Patrol car in Sunol at 3:40 Monday afternoon, leading sheriff's deputies on a high speed chase on northbound Interstate 680 until she flipped the patrol car over in an embankment near the Stoneridge Drive exit, according to authorities.
The woman had been the passenger in an Acura Integra traveling on the freeway that a highway patrol car signaled to pull over in Fremont. Instead of pulling over, the male driver continued driving at about 70 to 80 miles per hour and then suddenly exited off the Calaveras Road exit in Sunol, according to CHP spokesman Steve Creel.
Sheriff's deputies then used a maneuver with the patrol car to stop the vehicle, which worked, but then both the driver and the passenger fled the scene. Creel said deputies tasered the woman, estimated to be in her late teens, early 20s and Hispanic, put her in handcuffs and sat her in the backseat of the patrol car.
Meanwhile, deputies pursued the driver on foot. During that time, the woman was able to somehow wiggle her arms in front of her, hopped into the driver's seat of the patrol car and sped off, hightailing it on 680 north into Pleasanton, Creel said.
Sheriff's deputies followed the hijacked patrol car north until the woman swung across all lanes in an attempt to exit at Stoneridge Drive and flipped the car into a ditch just before the off-ramp. She got out of the car and started running, but a deputy was able to apprehend her after tasering her. Both the man, also estimated to be in his late teens, early 20s and Hispanic, and the woman were taken to ValleyCare Medical Center for evaluation, released, and taken to Santa Rita Jail.
Creel said the incident, which snarled traffic in both directions of 680, was extremely unusual.
"What was unique was the aggressiveness displayed by both, so we're looking into their backgrounds to see if they have any prior records," Creel said.
No other cars were involved in the incident and authorities are investigating how the woman was able to escape. The names of the suspects have not been released.
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