Fleeing suspect hit, killed while running on freeway

Driver ran red lights, tried to hit patrol cars, sheriff ’s office said

SAN JOSE — A man who intentionally backed into a sheriff’s patrol car and led deputies on a highspeed chase late Monday night was killed when he was hit by a vehicle while running across Highway 101, authorities said.

The fatality was one of three reported deaths on Bay Area roadways within an approximately fourhour period Monday night.

The chase began at 9:51 p.m. when deputies from the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office noticed a “suspicious” white Toyota Avalon parked at a Chevron gas station near Commercial and 15th streets in San Jose, sheriff’s Sgt. Richard Glennon said.

The deputies parked behind the Toyota, got out of their patrol car and approached the driver, a man in his 50s, Glennon said. The Toyota had “paper plates on it” and other vehicle code violations which drew the attention of the deputies.

The driver threw the car in reverse, crashed into the patrol car and drove away.

During the pursuit, the driver was “flying through red lights and trying to hit patrol cars,” Glennon said.

The pursuit made its way to northbound Highway 101. At some point the Toyota suffered two damaged tires, and deputies were following the car at moderate to lower speeds, Glennon said. Because the pursuit was on a freeway, the sheriff’s office had called the California Highway Patrol to take lead of the chase.

Before CHP officers arrived, the chase ended at 10:07 p.m. when the suspect stopped the Toyota and bailed out on northbound Highway 101 just south of Fair Oaks Avenue. He jumped over the center median and tried to run across the four southbound lanes of 101, according to the sheriff’s office. He was hit by a Prius while traveling in the slow lane, authorities said.

The suspect, whose name is being withheld until his family can be notified, was pronounced deceased after being taken to Valley Medical Center, Glennon said.

As of Tuesday morning, the coroner’s office had not released the identities of any of the three people who died Monday night.

The first fatality of the night was reported just after 6 p.m. on Skyline Boulevard near Highway 9 when a driver lost control while driving at a highrate of speed, according to the CHP. The driver was killed and a passenger was injured in the solo-vehicle spinout crash.

The driver was identified by the Santa Clara County Medical Examiner-Coroner’s Office as Santiago Vazquez, 26, of Modesto.

About 40 minutes later, a motorcyclist was involved in a collision on Highway 92 at Cañada Road in San Mateo. The San Mateo County Coroner’s Office identified the motorcyclist as Chance Cassidy Hales, 20, of San Mateo.

Anyone with information on the CHP pursuit is asked to contact the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office at 408-808-4500. Those wishing to remain anonymous can contact the sheriff’s office anonymous tip line at 408-808-4431.