Driver Held After Leading CHP on High-Speed Chase

A man possibly high on drugs led police on a chase that reached 125 mph Friday before his car went airborne and crashed, authorities said.

The unidentified driver will probably face charges of evading police, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or both, and possession and transportation of drugs, said Frank Sandoval, a spokesman for the California Highway Patrol.

The incident began shortly before 9:30 a.m., when a CHP officer pulled over a car that had been traveling about 85 mph on the southbound Golden State Freeway south of Gorman, Sandoval said.

The driver--the only occupant of the car--got out and walked toward the officer. The officer had the man wait by the patrol car while he checked the car’s registration. The officer found a pipe used for smoking drugs inside the man’s car, Sandoval said.

The officer called for backup but as he waited, the driver ran to his car, got in and fled, the spokesman said.

The driver headed south for a short distance, crossed the center divider, made a U-turn, left the freeway and headed east on Lancaster Road, Sandoval said.

During the approximately 20-mile pursuit, the driver nearly ran several vehicles off the road, Sandoval said.

He said the chase came to an end at the Antelope Valley Freeway transition near Lancaster, where the car went airborne and landed off the highway, disabling its engine.

The slightly injured motorist was arrested about 10 a.m., treated at Lancaster Community Hospital and was being held for investigation, Sandoval said.