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Left: A Palmdale man was arrested Saturday after a pursuit that started in Los Angeles County ended at the corner of East Main and Garcia streets when the suspect slammed into front yards and a fire hydrant. Right: Turning off the water to the broken fire hydrant required Santa Paula Firefighters to enter the gusher created when a high-speed pursuit ended when the driver of a stolen vehicle slammed into the hydrant. |
A high-speed pursuit Saturday that started in Palmdale ended in Santa Paula when the suspect behind the wheel of a stolen car took out a fire hydrant and was captured amid the gusher.
According to California Highway Patrol Officer David Webb, the March 21 early morning pursuit by members of the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Office started in Palmdale as they chased a vehicle that had been reported stolen out of Oceanside.
“Once the vehicle came into the Antelope Valley,” the pursuit was handed off to the CHP, which Webb said pursued the vehicle through Newhall and onto Highway 126 towards Ventura County.
Santa Paula Police Sgt. Jeremy Watson said the vehicle was passing through the city at about 7 a.m. when it exited at Palm Avenue, “went northbound, then eastbound on Main,” reaching speeds of “90-plus-miles-per-hour,” when it veered out of control and struck a fire hydrant on the corner of East Main and Garcia streets.
Webb said the driver, “Was immediately taken into custody,” by the California Highway Patrol.
The suspect, Marcel Mares, 31 of Palmdale, “was medically cleared — he was not injured — then booked into Ventura County Jail,” on charges related to the stolen vehicle and pursuit.
Santa Paula Police and fire also responded to the incident and the street was shutdown until firefighters could shut off the water to the broken fire hydrant.
