Good Samaritan's New Car Stolen While Helping Crash Victim

A crime spree worthy of a movie plot played out on the normally quiet streets of Marin County overnight, ending with an arrest and a suspect nursing wounds from a police dog bite.

The drama began on Point Reyes-Petaluma Road in Hicks Valley just after 10:30 p.m. Monday. A woman told police that a car passed her, but crashed farther down the road. She stopped to help the driver, but he jumped into her car and sped off, Marin County sheriff’s Lt. Rudy Yamanoha told the Marin Independent Journal. She had just purchased the car three weeks ago and still had paper license plates.

Police and sheriff’s deputies throughout the county were alerted. The car was spotted in Fairfax around 11 p.m. When an officer tried to stop the car, it took off at speeds of 80 to 100 mph. The driver lost control and crashed on Center Boulevard near Madrone. He jumped out of the car and disappeared into a neighborhood.

Officers and deputies from Fairfax, San Rafael, Central Marin and Ross joined the manhunt. It ended around 12:15 a.m. when a police dog sunk its teeth into the suspect.

After treatment at a hospital for the dog bite, the suspect has been booked into jail.

The names of the victim and Good Samaritan have not been released.

One more note from the CHP--the car originally crashed in Hicks Valley was also stolen.