Driver Sought After High-Speed Chase Punctuated by Gunshot

A motorist who led a California Highway Patrol officer on a wild high-speed chase through the downtown during the afternoon rush-hour, then leaped from his car to vault a fence and flee on foot, was still being sought late Wednesday.

CHP Lt. Arnie Schwartz said the driver, identified as Charles Williams, 25, hit speeds of 85 to 90 m.p.h. through several intersections, ignoring red lights and roaring through the 3rd Street tunnel. Schwartz said Williams, who lived nearby, had not been wanted for anything.

Schwartz said a motorcycle patrolman, Stephen M. Miller, first saw Williams driving 95 m.p.h. west on the San Bernardino Freeway. After cutting onto the Golden State Freeway and racing through downtown, Williams reportedly spun into a driveway in the 200 block of South Reno Street in the Rampart District, where he jumped from his car and ran into an alley. He allegedly pointed a handgun at the officer, but did not fire. Miller fired one shot, but missed as the suspect vanished over a fence.