A woman in a stolen car with a child in the back seat led police on a high-speed chase Tuesday afternoon to Lemon Grove after hitting an unmarked San Diego Police Department patrol car, authorities said.
Around 3 p.m., the woman in a white Chevrolet sedan rear-ended Lt. Adam Sharkie’s unmarked SUV on Imperial Avenue near Interstate 5 in Grant Hill, the lieutenant said. The woman initially stayed at the scene and as Sharkie and woman waited for an SDPD traffic unit to respond to the accident, the woman took off eastbound on Imperial Avenue, starting the pursuit.
The woman was driving erratically at times at speeds reaching 80 mph, running stop signs and lights.
“When the vehicle pursuit became too hazardous, we discontinued the pursuit,” Sharkie said. “After the pursuit ended, she crashed the car, threw her wheel off and continued driving on three wheels with a child in the back seat.”
Officers were concerned for the safety of the child, began following the car again, but when it proved to be too hazardous again, they stopped the pursuit.
The suspect hit a parked truck at the corner of Canton Drive and Angelus Avenue, where Imperial Avenue turn into Lemon Grove Avenue, when she got to Lemon Grove and abandoned the car further up the street. When police arrived, the woman and child were gone.
Officer John Buttle said SDPD and the San Diego Sheriff’s Department are still looking for the woman and child, but did not have any descriptions, including the age and sex of the child. A news photographer at the scene said the woman was described as black.
Police were able to determine car was stolen but did not disclose from where. Sharkie was unharmed in the accident.