Man dead after ramming Manteca police vehicle, jumping off highway sign, getting struck by pickup
MANTECA – A suspect has died and an officer was sent to the hospital after an incident that started on a Highway 120 overpass in Manteca early Wednesday morning.
Manteca police say, around 2 a.m., an officer was on their way to help with a different call when he noticed a vehicle weaving back and forth behind him on S. Main Street near Highway 120.
The officer pulled over, thinking the suspect was trying to flag him down. That's when the officer reportedly noticed that the suspect – who had gotten out of his vehicle – was acting strangely.
With the officer keeping his distance and eventually getting back into his patrol vehicle, the suspect also got back into his car – and then rammed into the officer's vehicle, police say. The impact caused the patrol vehicle's airbags to deploy and left the driver's side door stuck closed.
Other officers were quickly at the scene, finding the suspect again out of his car and standing on a highway sign on the overpass. Officers tried to negotiate with the suspect, but police say he eventually jumped off the highway sign.
The suspect was struck by a passing pickup truck, police say. He died at the scene.
Authorities have not yet released the suspect's name, but he is believed to have been a man in his early 30s.
The officer whose patrol vehicle was rammed was taken to the hospital as a precaution.
Westbound lanes of Highway 120 have been blocked through the early morning hours due to the incident investigation.
