High-Speed North Bay Pursuit Ends In Fatal Crash: Police

AMERICAN CANYON, CA — A driver who led American Canyon police officers on a high-speed pursuit Thursday night in a stolen car died from injuries suffered in a crash, police said.

The chase started around 10:30 p.m. Thursday when the American Canyon Police Department was alerted that a gray Toyota SUV stolen out of Oakland was believed to be in the city of American Canyon.

Officers spotted a gray Toyota SUV traveling southbound in the 2500 block of Flosden Road and when an officer ran the license plate it matched the one stolen from Oakland, American Canyon police chief Rick Greenberg said.

Officers did a traffic stop on the SUV and the driver came to a complete stop on Fairgrounds Drive near Corcoran Avenue in Vallejo, just outside the city limits of American Canyon.

When officers got out of their patrol cars and told the driver to exit the car, the driver instead sped southbound on Fairgrounds.

The officers pursued the driver onto eastbound state Highway 37, then onto eastbound Interstate Highway 80 at speeds over 100 mph with very light traffic on the freeway, Greenberg said.

"Near the Red Top Road exit in Solano County, the driver lost control of the SUV and went off the roadway over the guard rail, at which time the driver and sole occupant of the vehicle was ejected," Greenberg said. "An ambulance happened to be in the area and rendered first aid to the driver immediately following the crash."

The driver was taken to North Bay Medical Center in Fairfield and was pronounced dead early Friday.

No other vehicles were involved in the crash, police said.

The Solano County Coroner's Office, which is investigating the death, was expected to release the driver's name after their next of kin were notified.