Alleged DUI suspect leads CHP on high-speed pursuit with 4-year-old child in car
The California Highway Patrol office in Hayward on Thursday confirmed the recent DUI arrest of a woman who led officers on a high-speed chase with her four-year-old child in the vehicle before being caught and testing at nearly twice the legal limit.
CHP Hayward social media accounts posted about the incident Thursday morning. Late Wednesday night at around 11:30 p.m., officers attempted to stop a vehicle that was traveling a 90 mph when the female driver decided to flee.
The enforcement stop was initiated on southbound I-880 north of I-238, with the ensuing pursuit continuing on southbound I-880, CHP said.
Following the high-speed pursuit, the female driver exited the freeway before stopping and abandoning her car. She then tried to flee on foot with her four-year-old child who was in the car trailing behind her. The woman was finally apprehended on Hesperian Blvd.
When she was caught by officers, they found her blood alcohol level was at almost twice the legal limit of alcohol of .08% and that the arrest was not her first offense. Officers also detained a male passenger who was in the car and found to be illegally in possession of a loaded firearm.
The female DUI suspect was identified as 24-year-old Imai Jayla Nicole Eills. CHP confirmed she was previously arrested in September for DUI. Ellis was arrested and booked into Santa Rita jail on charges of felony evading, DUI, and child endangerment.
The male passenger was identified as 25-year-old Clinton James Bailey, Jr. He was arrested and booked on gun charges.
"Officers were horrified to discover a child was in the vehicle during these reckless acts," the post read. "They acted swiftly and safely apprehended both suspects, ensuring the child was unharmed."
