DUI Suspect Leads Petaluma Officers on Wild, Fiery Chase
PETALUMA (CBS SF) -- Police in Petaluma on Saturday morning arrested a man in connection with drunk driving and other crimes following a vehicle pursuit with officers.
Sergio Guerra, 37, of Sebastopol, was arrested on suspicion of DUI, resisting arrest and felony evading, according to the Petaluma Police Department.
On Saturday at 2:16 a.m., officers were in the parking lot of 7-Eleven convenience store on Petaluma Boulevard South at D Street when they heard a vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed.
Police said the vehicle, a gray Chevrolet Silverado, pulled into the parking lot near the officers, and Guerra asked them if they were going to arrest him and that he had nothing to lose.
Guerra then drove out of the parking lot, onto Petaluma Boulevard South and stopped in the middle of the road.
Officers, believing Guerra may have been intoxicated, attempted to conduct a traffic stop but the suspect did not pull over and drove erratically through neighborhoods at speeds up to 65 mph while ignoring traffic signals.
The pursuit then moved to Highway 101, and officers requested the help of the California Highway Patrol.
Police said the pursuit reached speeds of approximately 85 mph on the highway.
Guerra's vehicle was damaged during the pursuit and eventually caught fire as he was traveling up the Cotati Grade, and he stopped in the middle of the freeway.
Guerra refused officers' commands to exit the truck and he rolled up his windows, so an officer broke out the passenger window of the truck, and K-9 Basko was sent into the vehicle to apprehend the suspect.
Officers were then able to take Guerra into custody.
He was transported to the hospital for superficial wounds and was ultimately arrested.
The vehicle pursuit went on for more than eight miles and lasted approximately 10 minutes, police said.
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