One Woman Dead, Man Arrested In High-Speed Chase From Ceres To Modesto
CERES (CBS13) — A high-speed car chase spanning from the foothills to the valley left a car split in two and a woman dead.
The crash happened around 1:30 a.m. Wednesday on Oakdale Road near Scenic Drive in Modesto.
Belongings littering the roadway and a car split in two, that's what bystanders saw shortly after the deadly collision on Wednesday. Barbara Cullen says she was waiting at the window of the McDonald's drive-thru.
"Honestly when I saw that. I thought death. You could tell," Cullen said. "All we saw was the top standing up. We both said someone won't be at Christmas dinner and it made me cry."
Police say 24-year-old Devin Long of Jamestown stole a car in Sonora and took it to Ceres. Officers spotted the vehicle in a Ceres parking lot. They say Long was inside with a 28-year-old woman riding in the passenger seat.
Long reportedly drove off as police approached the car.
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"It's sad that we have an area of high car theft," Tommy Thompson said. "He took the risk and he suffered from it."
Officers say Long lead them on a chase at speeds topping 100 miles per hour.
"They did employ stop sticks during the initial stages pursuit and that was unsuccessful, the suspect was able to maneuver around the stop sticks," Ceres Police Sergeant Yostuya said.
When Long got to Modesto, police say he lost control of the car, slamming into a tree and flipping over. The impact was so intense it tore the car nearly in half and forced it to roll several times.
"It's sad someone has to expend their life because they try and take someone else's property," Thompson said.
Officers say the woman died on the scene, but Long survived the crash and ran away. While Ceres police tended to the victim, Modesto Police arrived to help officers locate the suspect. About 40 minutes later, they found Long hiding in a trash enclosure.
"If you see the lights behind you stop. Nothing that you've done is worth someone's life," Sgt. Yotsuya said.
Long will be booked into the Stanislaus County Jail, but neighbors say they will never forget what he did, and what they saw.
"It's a young lady that ain't going home and what about the booster seat? What did that mean?" Cullen said.
Police say the car was stolen from a man in Sonora. They say when they contacted him about the crash, he had not yet realized the car was missing.