LAKE ISABELLA — A 52-year-old Lake Isabella man is dead after crashing his car during a high-speed pursuit with sheriff’s deputies in Lake Isabella last Thursday.
According to the Kern County Sheriff’s Office, the incident began at about 2:30 p.m. on August 27 when a deputy spotted a vehicle that he believed had been reported stolen August 19, and began following it.
A short time later the driver, later identified as Jack Robertson, pulled into a turnout near the French Gulch Marina, where the deputy said he was able to ascertain the license plate number and determine that the vehicle was indeed stolen. “The driver of the vehicle then made a U-turn and began driving south on Highway 155 at a high rate of speed,” Sheriff’s Public Information Officer Ray Pruitt said. “The deputy pursued the suspect vehicle, which reached speeds of 85 to 90 miles per hour.”
Trailing by a quarter mile, the deputy attempted to catch up to Robertson near the French Gulch Bridge, where he observed him lose control of the vehicle. “The vehicle the suspect was driving began swerving from side to side,” Pruitt said. “And then flipped over five to six times, ejecting the driver from the vehicle.”
The deputy involved in the chase immediately administered CPR, but Robertson would later die from his injuries. The California Highway Patrol is investigating the traffic accident.
