SAN DIEGO — A man suspected of stealing a white Cadillac SUV led authorities on a pursuit Friday to several areas of San Diego County was arrested, authorities said.
Alfredo Estrada, 47, of Santa Ana, was identified as the suspect, Salvador Castro with the California Highway Patrol said in a news release. He was taken to a hospital for medical clearance and was booked into the San Diego County Jail.
Around 5:04 p.m., California Highway Patrol units in the San Diego area took over a pursuit on Interstate 5 southbound from north of Las Flores Creek once it reached Del Mar Heights Road, Salvador Castro with the California Highway Patrol said in a news release.
The suspect then led officers on Interstate 805 southbound, where an unknown black vehicle appeared to try to run the suspect’s car off the road.
The pursuit continued onto surface streets in Kearny Mesa and Serra Mesa, ultimately ending in a residential community in the Linda Vista neighborhood.
The suspect’s vehicle circled the Fashion Hills community in Linda Vista several times in an escape attempt. but struck a spike strip laid out by law enforcement. The spike strip strike caused the suspect’s vehicle to crash into a tree and down an embankment next to an apartment complex.
The suspect exited the vehicle and starting running from officers. While he was running, the suspect tumbled down a hill, but bounced back up and continued to run.
However, CHP later surrounded the suspect and arrested him around 6:25 p.m.
People living in the complex told FOX 5 they heard the commotion, the helicopter overhead and a lot of sirens. They also say a police dog attacked the wrong person in the midst of the search for the suspect.
“I saw the canine dog come in like one of our neighbors was walking and the canine just happened to attack one of our neighbors who is not the suspect. So then I think they were dealing with that too, and they were kind of going up and down the neighborhood,” resident Andrea Lapuz said.
FOX 5 has asked CHP to confirm any details about the police dog attacking a neighbor, but we haven’t heard back about that incident.
FOX 5’s Kasia Gregorczyk contributed to this story.
