SLO deputies searching for reckless driver who crashed car, fled on foot near Shandon
The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office is searching for a reckless driving suspect who crashed his car and fled authorities on foot Saturday off Highway 46 near Shandon, according to a news release.
A deputy first tried to stop the suspect, identified as 19-year-old Dylan Keanu Wilson of Merced, at 2:15 p.m. after a California Highway Patrol officer called in for help with the stop. Wilson was reportedly “driving recklessly” in a red Volkswagen coupe going eastbound on Highway 46 just east of Shandon.
After the deputy stopped Wilson, he was “uncooperative and confrontational with the deputy,” according to the Sheriff’s Office release.
Wilson then drove away and a “short pursuit was initiated,” though it was soon after “terminated due to unsafe conditions,” the release said.
Wilson then crashed his vehicle after being chased by a CHP helicopter and then ran from the crash on foot, according to the release.
Then, he got back into his car and drove “at a high rate of speed” on Highway 41 northbound until “he drove off of the road, through a fence and fled once again on foot,” the sheriff’s release said.
San Luis Obispo County sheriff’s deputies with K-9s, CHP helicopters and officers on foot, as well as Kern County sheriff’s deputies, continued to look for Wilson into the evening. Highway 41 between the “Y” at the Highways 46 and 41 interchange and the summit at Highway 41 was temporarily closed during the search, according to the release.
Wilson has not yet been found. His Volkswagen coupe was towed from the scene. He is not a danger to the public, the release said.
When he is caught, he will be booked into jail on proposed charges of “felony fleeing with willful or wanton disregard for safety of persons or property,” according to the release.
If anyone should encounter Wilson, who is described as 6-foot-1 and 180 pounds wearing a white shirt and khaki pants, contact the Sheriff’s Office at 805-781-4550.
