High-speed chase on Highway 101 ends with crash in SLO, CHP says
.jpg "A high-speed chase than began on Highway 101 in Atascadero ended in San Luis Obispo when the driver crashed near Santa Rosa Street on Tuesday, March 7, 2023, the California Highway Patrol said.")
A Watsonville man was arrested Tuesday after he led officers on a high-speed chase down Highway 101 from Atascadero to San Luis Obispo, the California Highway Patrol said in a news release.
Luciano Lopez was driving recklessly in a white Infinity sedan southbound on Highway 101 in the Paso Robles area when several people began calling 911 around 3:20 p.m., the CHP said.
Lopez was reported to be “swerving all over the roadway with the right tire deflated, and driving on a rim,” the release said.
CHP officers caught up to the car on Highway 101 southbound at San Anselmo Road. They attempted an enforcement stop, according to the release, but Lopez “continued to drive recklessly in an attempt to evade CHP officers.”
Officers continued to pursue the vehicle to San Luis Obispo, where they deployed a spike strip at the bottom of the Cuesta Grade, the CHP said.
The strip slowed the vehicle to a safe speed, which allowed CHP officers to perform a maneuver to stop the vehicle.
Lopez’s car was “forcibly stopped” when it crashed on the highway southbound near Broad and Santa Rosa streets.
Lopez had one female passenger.
CHP Officer Patrick Seebart said an ambulance was at the scene of the crash evaluating whether the driver was under the influence of a drug, and Lopez was subsequently taken into custody and arrested on suspicion of felony evading and driving under the influence of a drug.
The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office was also at the scene.
This story was originally published March 7, 2023 at 4:49 PM.
