Patrol officers arrested a young Thermal man Sunday on suspicion of reckless evasion after a multi-vehicle crash following a high-speed chase, authorities said.
As California Highway Patrol officers from the Oceanside area patrolled northbound Interstate 5 at Manchester Avenue at 8:22 a.m. when they saw a grey Nissan Sentra moving erratically at a high rate of speed, Officer Hunter Gerber said.
The officers tried to make a traffic stop, but the Nissan failed to yield and the pursuit began, Gerber said.
The car continued along northbound I-5 until it exited at Encinitas Boulevard and traveled eastbound for a little more than a mile and approached Via Cantebria.
The Nissan entered the intersection, running a red light as the driver allegedly attempted to make an illegal left turn toward northbound Via Cantebria, said Gerber, of the CHP. At the same time, two vehicles traveling westbound on Encinitas entered the intersection.
The Nissan driver, 19, collided with two vehicles, the first a grey Volkswagen Jetta driven by a Carlsbad woman, 25. The second vehicle was a grey Chevrolet Traverse driven by an Encinitas woman, 32, with her two sons, a 1-year-old and a 3-year-old, inside..
The Nissan driver and his occupants – all Thermal residents ranging from 16 to 20 years old –suffered major, but non-life threatening injuries and were transported to hospitals, Gerber said.
The driver of the Volkswagen, the driver of the Chevrolet and her juvenile passengers were also sent to area hospitals, for injuries also not considered to be life-threatening.
CHP officers arrested the Nissan driver on suspicion of reckless evading of a police officer. Investigators regard alcohol or drugs as possible factors in the collision, Gerber said.
Authorities had cleared the intersection by 1 p.m.
The CHP asked that anyone who witnessed the crash contact them at 760-643-3400.
– City News Service