Crime & Safety
Police ID Fugitive High Speed Chase Suspect
Bay Area authorities have ID'd the driver of a U-Haul truck who allegedly led deputies on a high-speed pursuit that lasted over 50 miles.
BAY AREA, CA -- The Sonoma County Sheriff's Office has identified the driver of a U-Haul truck who allegedly led deputies on a high-speed pursuit that lasted over 50 miles from Santa Rosa to San Francisco on Wednesday night, according to the sheriff's office.
Joseph Leonard Lopes, 40, of Rohnert Park managed to evade deputies when he entered San Francisco via the Golden Gate Bridge and remains at large, sheriff's officials said. He has warrants for burglary and fraud
and prior convictions for burglary, assault and weapons charges.
The pursuit began at about 9 p.m., when a sheriff's deputy attempted to stop the driver for running a stop sign and driving left of a double yellow line in the area of Olive and Hazel streets in Santa Rosa.
Find out what's happening in Rohnert Park-Cotatifor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Instead of pulling over, he led authorities on a pursuit that reached speeds of more than 100 mph. The driver entered southbound U.S. Highway 101 at Third Street and proceeded to exit and re-enter the highway
throughout the course of the chase, sheriff's officials said.
The driver first exited the highway in Rohnert Park, heading west to Stony Point Road. Deputies laid a spike strip at Stony Point Road and state Highway 116 in Cotati, but the driver entered the highway again at
Pepper Road, continuing south, according to the sheriff's office.
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He attempted to exit at both Petaluma Boulevard North and East Washington Street, but authorities had blocked off the exits to protect motorists.
California Highway Patrol officers took over at state Highway 37 in Marin County before the chase continued onto the Golden Gate Bridge.
Authorities abandoned the pursuit when the driver entered San Francisco, fearing for the public's safety since the driving was deemed too erratic.
Sheriff's detectives looked into the rental records of the U-Haul truck, a Ford F-150 pickup with Arizona license plate No. AH19522.
Anyone with information about Lopes or the truck can contact the Sonoma County sheriff's dispatch center at (707) 565-2121.
By Bay City News/Image via the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office
