CHP Car Rammed in Chase

A California Highway Patrol car was rammed by a driver suspected of car theft during a high-speed chase through Sylmar that reached speeds up to 100 m.p.h., authorities said.

The driver, identified as Jeffrey Campbell, 31, of Sunland, was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer, evading arrest and grand theft, CHP Sgt. Gary Fief said.

The chase began about 4:45 a.m. Sunday when CHP Officer Doug Villars saw two small pickup trucks follow each other north on the Golden State Freeway then east on the Foothill Freeway, authorities said. Villars said he suspected that the lead truck might have been stolen because the wing window had been broken, a common method of breaking in.

Villars said he pulled up alongside the trucks after they drove off the freeway and came to a stop sign. The driver of one of the trucks backed up, accelerated forward and rammed the patrol vehicle.

The pursuit began on Foothill Boulevard and reached speeds up to 100 m.p.h., Villars said. Eventually, the driver lost control of the truck, which crashed into the curb.

“I rammed the vehicle in an attempt to stop it, which freed it from being stuck on the curb,” Villars said.

The CHP car later rammed the car again, sending it out of control into a curb on Oro Grande Street and Newgard Avenue, authorities said. The driver then fled on foot and was arrested after a short pursuit, Villars said.

Villars received moderate injuries to his back. No one else was injured, Fief said.