[SAN DIEGO (College Area) Sun July 5, 12:08 a.m.] — A driver who struck a San Diego Police patrol car downtown led officers on a freeway pursuit early Sunday that ended in a nearly two-hour standoff on an embankment along Interstate 8, closing the eastbound freeway and stranding drivers for miles.
According to SDPD radio traffic, the pursuit began on Sixth Avenue downtown after the driver of a gold Chrysler convertible hit a patrol car and fled. The chase continued onto Interstate 5 north, then Interstate 8 east. Just east of College Avenue, the Chrysler left the roadway and went down the steep right-side embankment, stopping short of Alvarado Road, held back only by a chain-link fence.
The crash disabled the car. The driver, reported over the radio to be armed with a knife, refused repeated PA commands to exit. SD Slackers video from the scene shows the man moving around inside the vehicle, holding a knife, smoking an unidentified substance, and at times appearing to text. He restarted the car and tried to drive, but it remained stuck.
SWAT initially called a Code 12 — an immediate threat to life — before downgrading to Code 11, a barricaded-suspect designation, once an armored BearCat was positioned nose-to-nose with the Chrysler to block any movement. Officers deployed pepper balls into the car.
When the man finally stepped out holding a black bag and the knife, officers struck him with a less-lethal round, then released a police K-9. The struggle with the dog carried both back into the car before officers rushed in, pulled them apart, and placed the man in restraints. The standoff concluded at 2:19 a.m.
Eastbound I-8 was closed throughout, and a SigAlert was issued. Traffic backed up as far as Mission Gorge Road, leaving many drivers stuck with no way off the freeway.
