An auto-theft and DUI suspect fleeing from police in a stolen Tesla drove it onto the Pacific Beach boardwalk Monday, causing serious injuries to a pedestrian.
The suspect ditching the vehicle, then tried to escape on foot before witnesses caught up to him.
The chase began at about 12:30 p.m., when the unidentified suspect failed to yield to officers who tried to pull him over on Mission Boulevard, the San Diego Police Department said in a news release.
The stolen Tesla struck an electrical transformer, after which the suspect steered it onto the boardwalk from Pacific Beach Drive, according to SDPD. While continuing to flee to the north at high speed, the car hit a pedestrian, at which point the suspect abandoned the Tesla and ran off.
Witnesses responded by chasing down and capturing the fleeing driver, then holding the suspect captive until officers arrived.
Paramedics, meanwhile, took the victim to a hospital for treatment of serious, but non-life-threatening injuries.
The suspect is believed to have been intoxicated during the pursuit, according to police.
