OAKLEY, Calif. -- A desperate car-theft suspect rammed a police car then flipped his own vehicle, ending a high-speed chase from Antioch to Oakley this morning, authorities said.
Around 6:45 a.m., Antioch police spotted a stolen vehicle and the male driver refused to pull over. He briefly eluded the officers, traveling at high speeds into Oakley where police there picked up the chase, said Oakley police Chief Bani Kollo.
The suspect drove through a fence heading north on Big Break Road but reached a dead end at the marina, so he turned around, directly toward an Oakley sergeant's police car that had cut off his escape path, Kollo said.
He rammed the police vehicle out of the way and may have tried to run down two more squad cars before he rolled his own vehicle a short distance away at Main Street. Kollo said the driver got out of the overturned car and tried to run away, making it about 50 yards before officers chased him down and took him into custody.
The suspect was transported by medical helicopter to John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek as a precaution, Kollo said.
None of the officers involved in the chase were injured.
Kollo said the suspect will likely face multiple assault with a deadly weapon counts, but noted that Antioch police will ultimately decide what charges to present to prosecutors.
Check back later for updates to this story.
Copyright 2011 - Contra Costa Times, Walnut Creek, Calif.
