An auto theft suspect in a stolen work truck was arrested Thursday after leading authorities on a road chase from Bonita to the East County highlands.
The pursuit began about 9:30 a.m., after an employee of the company that owns the purloined Ford F-250 made an emergency call to report spotting it being driven in the area of Bay Boulevard and F Street, near San Diego Harbor in Chula Vista.
A short time later, a Chula Vista police officer caught up with the truck — which had been stolen earlier in the morning in National City, with a trailer containing traffic-control equipment attached to it — in the area of Interstate 805 and state Route 54 and notified the California Highway Patrol, CVPD Lt. Gino Grippo said.
With the city police officer tailing him, the suspect fled to the east into El Cajon, where the CHP took over the chase on Interstate 8, Grippo said.
Highway Patrol officers pursued the fleeing man into Alpine, where he finally pulled to a stop on a dirt road and was taken into custody about 10 a.m., Grippo said.
The suspect was identified by the California Highway Patrol as Donald Louis Diaz, 36, of Chula Vista. Jail records show he was charged with vehicle theft, evading police with disregard to safety, resisting an officer and possession of paraphernalia.
— City News Service
