Riverside County sheriff’s deputy dragged by fleeing suspects
A Riverside County sheriff’s deputy was injuredtoday when he was dragged by a moving vehicle with a suspected drug user at thewheel.
The driver of the vehicle, not yet identified, was arrested about a half-hour later following a high-speed chase that went from Moreno Valley intodowntown Riverside.
The confrontation with the deputy occurred around 10:50 a.m. in theparking lot of a 99 Cent Only store at Cottonwood Avenue and Perris Boulevard,according to sheriff’s officials.
The deputy spotted two men in a four-door Dodge Neon, thought they werebehaving suspiciously and approached to investigate.
When he looked inside, the deputy said he saw the two suspects whoappeared to be shooting up with heroin and tried to arrest the driver, whoimmediately floored the sedan, dragging the deputy about 10 feet and possiblyrunning over one of his legs, according to reports from the scene.
A dragnet was immediately deployed, with deputies fanning out across thecity, looking for the white Neon. About 15 minutes later, deputies spottedthe car parked in an alleyway off of Alessandro Boulevard, just north of MarchAir Reserve Base.
The car was occupied only by the driver, who raced out of the alley –nearly striking a sheriff’s patrol unit — and headed onto northboundInterstate 215, according to sheriff’s broadcasts.
Deputies pursued the Neon into the city of Riverside, where the chasereached speeds of 90 mph as the suspect fled north on Martin Luther KingBoulevard and then over to University Avenue before heading onto the westboundRiverside (91) Freeway.
The suspect exited the freeway at Central Avenue, racing north past theRiverside Plaza shopping center, then turning back west on Magnolia Avenue,with sheriff’s units, Riverside police and one California Highway Patrolofficer in pursuit.
According to Riverside police, a patrol car rammed the Neon at Brocktonand Magnolia avenues, at which point the suspect attempted to flee on foot butwas quickly apprehended.
The whereabouts of the second suspect, described only as a Hispanic manwearing a Los Angeles Lakers basketball jersey, were not immediately known.
The injured deputy was transported to Riverside County Regional MedicalCenter in Moreno Valley, where he was being treated for a non-life-threateningleg injury.
No other injuries were reported.
