Man arrested after Cathedral City crash

A 33-year-old Cathedral City man suspected of fleeing a stolen vehicle after a two-vehicle collision was arrested today after police found him hiding in an unoccupied residence in Rancho Mirage.

A Riverside County sheriff’s deputy witnessed the collision just before 3 p.m. at the intersection of Park View Drive and Joshua Road in Palm Desert and saw Joshua Bartel, flee from behind the wheel of one of the vehicles, according to sheriff’s Deputy Brad Farwell.

The vehicle had been reported stolen in La Quinta, Farwell said.

Deputies set up a perimeter and called in an air unit and search dog, Farwell said.

Bartel was found hiding in the 43200 block of Joshua Road, where he had forced entry into the unoccupied residence, Farwell said.

Bartel was arrested on suspicion of possession of a stolen vehicle, hit-and-run and residential burglary and booked into the Indio jail, Farwell said.