Suspect Rams 2 Police Cars During Wild Freeway Chase

Three suspected illegal immigrants were found in the trunk of a car whose driver attempted to ram two Chula Vista police officers’ cars after a wild chase early Saturday, authorities said.

The suspect got away, but not before officers Brent Ballard and Dennis Linney had pursued his Oldsmobile sedan for several miles, firing shots at the car as the driver tried to run down the officers near Interstate 5 and L Street shortly after 5 a.m.

Officer Linney saw the car running a stop sign at F Street and Bay Boulevard, said a Chula Vista Police spokesman. He then pursued the car, which headed toward I-5.

Police described the ensuing chase:

The suspect pulled onto I-5 southbound at H Street, made a U-turn on the freeway and headed north in the southbound lanes. Officers lost the vehicle, which was observed minutes later, again heading south on I-5.

Officers pulled up behind the vehicle, which took the L Street exit and made a U-turn heading north. Ballard stopped the vehicle at L Street and I-5, at which point the suspect aimed his car at Ballard’s and sped toward it.

Ballard fired several shots at the oncoming car, with the suspect continuing north, toward Linney’s car. As the suspect drove toward the second police car, Linney also began firing.

The suspect’s car was later abandoned but found with bullet holes in the grill and left side.

A search of the trunk found three suspected illegal immigrants, who were turned over to the U.S. Border Patrol, along with six suspected illegal immigrants found hiding in the bushes nearby.

Neither the illegal immigrants nor the police officers were injured, the spokesman said. The suspect was still at large Saturday night.