The driver of a suspected stolen pick-up truck was airlifted to
a San Jose hospital Thursday morning after leading officers from
the California Highway Patrol on a high-speed chase down Highway
152 before crashing into a power pole on Ferguson Road near Gilroy,
according to the CHP.
The driver of a suspected stolen pick-up truck was airlifted to a San Jose hospital Thursday morning after leading officers from the California Highway Patrol on a high-speed chase down Highway 152 before crashing into a power pole on Ferguson Road near Gilroy, according to the CHP.
The vehicle, a white Chevrolet Silverado with an exempt license plate, was reported stolen out of Los Banos this morning, CHP Officer Jaime Rios said.
As of 9:30 a.m., Ferguson Road at Leavesley Road remained closed because of the down power lines, according to Rios.
Rios said the pick-up is publicly owned, but wasn’t sure to what agency it belonged.
The CHP spotted the vehicle long westbound Highway 152 near Casa de Fruta and a pursuit ensued, Rios said.
With several CHP units following the vehicle – driven by a female with two other passengers inside – the truck “took off,” Rios said, accelerating as fast 90 mph toward Gilroy.
The truck then turned down Ferguson Road, where it ran over a set of spike strips set out by officers and crashed into a utility pole just north of Leavesley Road, Rios said.
The two passengers, one male and one female, climbed out of the car and were arrested. The driver remained in the truck and was unresponsive, and emergency crews were forced to wait until PG&E officials arrived and shut down power to the downed lines before extracting the driver, Rios said.
The downed power lines started a small brush fire, he said.
The female passenger was flown to Regional Medical Center of San Jose. The extent of her injuries were not known as of 9:30 a.m.
There were no other injuries, Rios said. Names and ages of the driver and passengers are currently unavailable.
