High Speed Chase Ends in Crash in Diamond Bar

A man who was arrested after he slammed his SUV into a woman’s car while trying to flee police Sunday may have been drinking, according to California Highway Patrol officials.

The identity of the arrested man had not released as of late Sunday. The chase started at 7:21 p.m. and went on for about a half-hour.

A CHP officer reported seeing a man in an Cadillac Escalade on eastbound Highway 91 in Yorba Linda using his cell phone as he drove.

The official tried to pull the vehicle over, but the driver ignored the lights and kept on going, said CHP Sgt. Joseph Aboy.

“He just continued driving at a normal speed, about 70 (miles per hour), and he continued that way all the way to the 71 (Freeway),” Aboy said.

The suspect took the northbound 71 and began to speed up. He exited Chino Hills Parkway and continued avoiding police on surface streets, Aboy said.

At one point during the pursuit, he was obeying traffic laws, Aboy said. During that time, Aboy said the driver stopped to let a female passenger out of the Escalade.

Aboy did not know where she was dropped off. They had no information on the woman, because their focus remained on the driver, who accelerated his speed to between 90 to 100 miles per hour after she was out of the vehicle, he said.

The suspect wound his way on surface streets to northbound Grand Avenue, where he ran a red light and crashed with a Lexus four-door sedan between the Highway 57 on- and off-ramps.

The crash forced the closure of Grand Avenue from Golden Springs Drive and the 57 Freeway.

A female driver of the Lexus was treated for a complaint of pain, while the suspect was uninjured, Aboy said.

CHP officers suspect alcohol was a factor in the incident. The investigation continues, Aboy said.