In the very early hours of Monday, after a late Sunday night, Ericson Reyes Carreon got into a fight with his roommate at their home in the Roseland area of Santa Rosa, in the southwest part of town. Carreon inflicted such harsh damage that the man suffered serious injuries and was transported to the hospital for treatment.
Sonoma County Sheriff’s deputies responded to the call, along with the emergency medical personnel, but Carreon had already left, taking his girlfriend’s silver Honda Pilot SUV, according to witnesses. The search began for the missing assailant in the Pilot at around 4 am, in the area around Dutton and Hearn Avenues. As one of the deputies approached Dowd Drive, a man flagged him down.
According to the Sheriff’s Department, the man told the deputy that he had been run off the road by a dark colored SUV, causing him to crash into the light pole. As he spoke to the man, they heard another crash, and they saw as the suspect SUV turned down Kenton Court, which runs opposite of Dowd Drive on the other side of Hearn. The deputy told the man to wait with his car while Santa Rosa Police responded to the scene, and the deputy proceeded down Kenton to locate the suspect.
He spotted the Honda Pilot, which appeared to be dragging something – likely debris from one of the collisions – and also had the headlights off. The deputy parked and approached the Honda, shouting commands to stop the vehicle and stay where he was. Carreon instead hit the gas, accelerating toward the deputy, who yelled and jumped out of the way just in time to avoid being hit. The patrol car and another parked car were both hit by the Honda, as Carreon continued to flee in the damaged SUV.
Carreon proceeded down Hearn at speeds in excess of 80 mph.
The deputy jumped back into his damaged, but serviceable patrol car and gave chase, alerting dispatch that he was in pursuit. Carreon headed west down Hearn in the foggy December morning, sometimes with the headlights out. The deputy observed as Carreon reached speeds of 80 miles per hour down the two lane road, weaving into the center and opposite lanes. Soon other deputies and Santa Rosa police officers joined to assist.
As he approached the Stony Point intersection, where Hearn Avenue becomes an even narrower residential road, Carreon lost control, spinning out and ending up in the empty lot on the right side of the street. As deputies and officers approached, Carreon was still not ready to give up, gunning the car in an attempt to escape. But the recent rains left the field muddy, and he simply sat and spun the wheels.
Before reaching Stony Point, Carreon crashed into the field on the right.
With no clear path to escape, one might expect that Carreon would finally give himself up, having caused enough damage already. But he did not, and deputies had to forcibly remove him. Since the doors were wedged shut from the three collisions, they had to break the windows to get at him. He was removed from the car, but not before inflicting a few minor injuries on the deputies who dragged him out. Once securely in custody, He also tried to claim he was someone other than himself, but that didn’t hold up for long.
Carreon was treated the hospital for multiple injuries he suffered in the crashes and his less that cooperative extraction from vehicle, which was towed from the scene. He was booked into the Sonoma County jail facing charges of battery with serious bodily injury for the incident with his roommate, assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer for his attack with the car, felony DUI causing injury (his own), felony evading arrest, and resisting arrest. Bail was set at $50,000, and he will celebrate New Year’s Eve in front of a judge at 1:30 pm for arraignment. He will also be subject to two hit and run charges, which the Santa Rosa Police will work with the District attorney on.
