Woman Steals Delivery Truck From School, Crashes In Chase: Police

SONOMA COUNTY, CA — A 31-year-old woman was arrested Thursday morning after leading police on a chase in a delivery truck she allegedly stole as it was parked outside a Santa Rosa elementary school. After a 3-minute, slow speed chase, the truck wound up on its side and she over-corrected, propelling the truck into a ditch, police said.

Santa Rosa police were notified at 7:13 a.m. that the truck was taken from the parking lot of Roseland Creek Elementary School, 1683 Burbank Ave. The Alsco driver told dispatchers he was delivering supplies to the school before it was in session.

"There were no children present during his delivery," SRPD Sgt. Jeneane Kucker said. "[The driver] went inside to contact an employee on campus after parking in the student pick-up area of the parking lot. The keys were left in the vehicle and the vehicle was locked, however the driver’s side window was down."

The driver told police he saw the truck being driven away as he was walking back to where he'd left it parked.

Police, having been notified that the stolen delivery truck was last seen traveling north on Burbank Avenue, spotted the truck about 7 minutes later at a stoplight on Farmers Lane at 4th Street.

Multiple police units were in place and had their lights and sirens activated as an attempt was made to stop the driver, later identified as Jessica Ybarra of Santa Rosa.

A 3-minute, slow-speed pursuit ensued on Highway 12 and continued onto Mission Boulevard at speeds of 25 to 30 mph, Kucker said.

As Ybarra arrived in the area of Mission Boulevard and Sherbrook Drive, an officer was ready and safely used a Pursuit Intervention Technique— or PIT — maneuver to push the back-end of the truck in a manner that will cause the vehicle to spin-out and stop, Kucker said.

The maneuver turned the delivery truck sideways and Ybarra over-corrected, hit the gas and went into a ditch on the west side of Mission, near Sherbrook, the sergeant said.

It was not immediately clear what prompted Ybarra to allegedly take the truck. She did have a felony warrant for her arrest for violation of probation and possession of stolen property, according to police.

Ybarra was taken to a local hospital to be treated for minor injuries she suffered in the crash.

No one else was injured in the incident and no other vehicles were involved in the collision, police noted.

Once medically cleared, Ybarra was to be booked at Sonoma County Jail for the felony warrant and allegedly stealing the truck.

Photo courtesy Santa Rosa Police Department