An Oxnard man evaded two spike strips and three attempts by authorities to push him off course with their own cars during an hour-long, high-speed chase up and down Highway 101 between Oxnard and the San Fernando Valley June 26.
Driving a white work van, the 39-year-old electrician, was pursued for more than 70 miles by California Highway Patrol units from Ventura, Moorpark and the West Valley.
The chase began around 7:09 p.m. when a motorist called 911 during an alleged road rage incident in Oxnard with the Oxnard man. It ultimately ended at 8:16 p.m. when units from the CHP’s Ventura office took him into custody after following him off the freeway, north on Oxnard Boulevard and through a nearby mobile home park.
The man was arrested June 26 on suspicion of felony evading an officer and several misdemeanors.
He was booked into Ventura County jail and is being held on $100,100 bail. He is set to appear in Ventura County Superior Court June 30, jail records show.
At the time of the chase, he was also wanted on active warrants for three felony gun and ammunition offenses, according to court records.
“He wouldn’t talk to us regarding why (he didn’t stop),” said Sgt. Mike Untalan of the CHP’s Ventura office. “We can only assume it was for the warrants.”
The chase began shortly after Oxnard police responded to the road rage incident between the two vehicles in Oxnard.
“Something happened within the city limits with a female party and him,” Untalan said. “He started following her. She was fearing something was going to happen, so she called 911.”
A unit from the Oxnard police department attempted to stop the man.
“And the chase was on,” Untalan said.
Units from the CHP’s Ventura office trailed the man southbound on Highway 101 from Rose Avenue to the Camarillo grade. He evaded a spike strip near the Camarillo Springs Road exit.
The Ventura County Sherrif’s Office attempted to assist with a helicopter, but there was not enough visibility to do so safely.
A unit from CHP’s Moorpark office joined the pursuit until the county line, when the CHP’s West Valley office took over. Those units attempted two unsuccessful maneuvers to ram and disable the vehicle after the man exited the freeway at Valley Circle Boulevard in West Hills.
“The suspect… got back on the 101 Northbound and entered back into Ventura County,” Untalan said.
Local CHP reentered the chase and attempted a second unsuccessful spike strip near the highway’s Pleasant Valley Road exit.
The van driver continued near the Rose Avenue exit, where authorities were able to use a ramming maneuver to spin him out from the second lane of the northbound 101 to the first lane.
“A moment after he was about to get out of the car, he sped off again,” Untalan said.
The driver exited at Vineyard Avenue and made a left onto Oxnard Boulevard.
“He was using all lanes of traffic, going around other vehicles,” Untalan said.
Eventually, the man pulled into the mobile home park where he was cornered. CHP officers pulled the driver out of the van, ending the pursuit.
Joe Curley is a staff writer for The Star. He can be reached at joe.curley@vcstar.com. For more coverage, follow @vcsjoecurley on Twitter/X, Instagram/Threads, Facebook and Bluesky.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Oxnard man leads high-speed chase up, down Highway 101
Reporting by Joe Curley, Ventura County Star / Ventura County Star
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