A man was arrested Monday morning on suspicion of ramming an SUV into a California Highway Patrol vehicle during a pursuit in the Serra Mesa neighborhood, causing minor injuries to a CHP officer and prompting two officers to open fire, police said.
Shortly after midnight, two CHP officers in a patrol vehicle spotted an Acura SUV speeding and swerving in traffic lanes on Interstate 805 near Murray Ridge Road, San Diego police Lt. Matt Dobbs said.
The CHP officers directed the SUV driver to pull over onto Phyllis Street and the driver complied, but as the officers approached the vehicle the driver made a U-turn and sped off, Dobbs said. During the ensuing pursuit, the officers were notified that the SUV had been taken in a carjacking in Escondido.
The officers chased the SUV a short distance until the driver turned northbound on Encino Avenue, a dead-end street.
The driver made a U-turn as the two CHP officers got out of their vehicle to apprehend the suspect, then the SUV driver drove toward their patrol vehicle, prompting both officers to open fire, the lieutenant said. The SUV collided with the patrol vehicle, pinning one of the officers between the door and the patrol vehicle.
The SUV driver and two passengers inside the SUV were not struck by the gunfire.
The officer suffered minor injuries and was taken to a hospital for treatment, Dobbs said, adding that the officer has since been released.
The SUV was later found abandoned in the 2200 block of Royale Crescent Court, off Encino Avenue just east of Murray Ridge Road, Dobbs said.
Officers searched the area and detained a 17-year-old girl nearby, he said. The alleged SUV driver, a 21-year-old man whose name was not immediately available, was found and arrested nearby a short time later.
A third suspect was still outstanding as of Monday morning, but no description was immediately available.
Investigators from the San Diego police Homicide Unit were investigating the shooting. The names of the two officers who fired their weapons were not immediately available.
