Friday, Aug. 13, 2010

Police chase may have led to car accident

Police attempts to catch an alleged car thief may have played a role in a rear-end car accident Wednesday night, but the California highway patrol says the crash was not the responsibility of law enforcement.

Cmdr. Ray Reyna said at 6:30 p.m. an off-duty officer spotted an occupied parked 1990s Honda on the 1500 block of St. James Avenue. The officer subsequently discovered the car had been reported stolen from Morgan Hill.

More law enforcement personnel arrived, but the suspect fled the vehicle and hopped a fence, Reyna said.

As officers established a perimeter in the area where the suspect was believed to be, a police car drove through the intersection of East B Street and Mercey Springs Road with its siren and lights on.

Reyna said, "A car rear-ended another car that was stopped. I'm guessing they were distracted by the lights."

Reyna said the CHP was called to investigate the accident while the police found the suspected car thief hiding on private property with a shaved car key in his possession.

The suspect, 21-year-old Gerry Elledge, was arrested on suspicion of car theft and evading police. CHP spokesman Jesse Lopez said the person whose car was hit in the accident, Leora Lewis, 29, was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol.

Lopez also said the Los Banos Police Department is not at fault for the accident. He drew a comparison to an ambulance.

"If you see an ambulance go through an intersection and you're distracted by the ambulance and hit somebody it's not the ambulance's fault," Lopez said. "It's your fault for being inattentive."

-- Corey Pride

— Corey Pride