Driver of stolen car leads cops on Highway 101 chase before arrest in SLO County, CHP says

A Lompoc man in a stolen vehicle led California Highway Patrol officers on a pursuit Wednesday that began in Santa Maria and ended in a Nipomo farm field.

An officer driving on Broadway near Taylor Street spotted the stolen white four-door Kia Rio, according to CHP Officer Maria Barriga.

He ran the license plate through CHP dispatch, confirmed it was the stolen vehicle, and activated his emergency lights, but the driver of the Kia Rio did not yield, Barriga added.

This started a pursuit that headed north on Highway 101 from Broadway, exited at Willow Road, then traveled through the west side of Nipomo and southbound on Division Road. reaching speeds up 90 mph and running several stop signs.

“During the pursuit, the passenger called 9-1-1 and identified himself and the driver, relating that the driver was attempting to check on his mom in Lompoc,” Barriga said.

“While southbound on Division, the driver passed Oso Flaco, turned left onto a dirt road, and into a field,” Barriga added. “The vehicle became disabled when it traversed a soft dirt berm.”

CHP officers then arrested the driver, identified as Vincent Romero, 41.

After getting medically cleared at Marian Regional Medical Center in Santa Maria, Romero was booked at the Northern Branch Jail.

He was being held at the jail Thursday in lieu of $75,000 bail.

The passenger was identified and released at the scene.

CHP Lt. Mike Brown, commander of the Santa Maria area office, asked dispatchers to contact the Lompoc Police Department for a welfare check on Romero’s mother in that city.