Area of E 9th Street, Gilroy
GILROY — An early Saturday morning vehicle pursuit that ended up being called off still ended in a major accident and shutdown of Highway 101 in Gilroy between 10th and Leavesley. Pursuing officers had lost sight of the vehicle and discontinued the pursuit just moments before the accident.
Early Saturday morning at about 3 AM, a Gilroy police officer patrolling the area of Chestnut and 8th noticed a vehicle speeding down Chestnut.
The driver ignored the officer’s attempts to conduct a stop and accelerated in an attempt to escape, turning a corner into a parking lot area and hitting a tree. Despite the crash, he was able to drive on.
The officer eventually lost sight of the vehicle and, given the driver’s recklessness, the pursuit was cancelled.
Officers soon learned that the suspect had crashed through a fence at the end of E. 9th Street and entered the southbound lanes of Highway 101, where it collided with an oncoming vehicle and ended up in the center divide.
Police are still determining whether the occupants of the offending vehicle were ejected from the car or attempted to flee on foot, but two ended up on the northbound lanes.
Given the size of the crime scene, both sides of the highway were closed down. The incident is still under investigation with police seeking to determine the underlying circumstances.
