A Redlands man driving a car stolen in Loma Linda lead authorities late Saturday on a 61-mile chase from San Bernardino to Indio, stopping only after a spike strip flattened one of the car’s tires.
The chase began at 10:17 p.m., near East Coulston Street, when a San Bernardino sheriff’s deputy tried to pull over a man driving a white Lexus for two unspecified violations, according to a sheriff’s news release. The man then sped up and fled, leading the deputy through San Bernardino and Redlands before speeding east on the 10 Freeway.
A sheriff’s helicopter and California Highway Patrol officers eventually joined the chase. Concerned about the man’s erratic driving, CHP officers placed a spike strip on the highway in the path of the stolen car, which flattened a tire and brought him to a stop in Indio.
Raymond Gonzales, 21, was arrested on suspicion of evading police officers, possessing stolen property and violating parole. He was booked at the Central Detention Center.