A man who led Highway Patrol officers on a high-speed chase Wednesday morning violently crashed his car east of Tucson and had to be pulled from the burning wreckage, officials said. Posted on 05/12/2005 6:33:44 AM PDT by Kokojmudd
Suspect freed, OK despite speeds of up to 120 mph By Becky Pallack ARIZONA DAILY STAR
A man who led Highway Patrol officers on a high-speed chase Wednesday morning violently crashed his car east of Tucson and had to be pulled from the burning wreckage, officials said.
Neither the man nor his rescuers were seriously injured in the crash, near the Vail interchange on Interstate 10.
The 10-mile chase began when Officer Ted Edwards of the Arizona Department of Public Safety tried to stop a white 2004 Chevy Impala near the eastbound Kolb Road exit on I-10 around 9:45 a.m. because the driver was weaving in his lane.
But the driver, Juan Martinez Vasquez, a Mexican national in his 20s, speeded up and started swerving in and out of traffic, using the emergency lane and the median, at speeds of up to 120 miles per hour, said DPS Officer Phil Cianciolo, who also was involved in the pursuit.
"He was taking extraordinary measures to get away, and we were taking reasonable measures to make sure no one got hurt," Cianciolo said.
About three miles down the road, Edwards called for a helicopter to follow the car so he could back off.
"If an innocent person's going to get hurt, we're going to terminate the pursuit," said Officer Jim Oien, a DPS spokesman. Runaway drivers usually slow down when a helicopter gets involved, he said.
But after another six miles, Martinez Vasquez turned onto the Vail interchange at 100 mph, officials said.
However, he didn't make the turn at the top of the ramp and flew off the road into a ravine, rupturing the fuel line, Cianciolo said. The car vaulted halfway across Wentworth Road, caught fire, scraped across the northbound lane and overturned on the other side of the road.
Edwards was still following the car and ran to pull the driver from the upside-down, burning vehicle.
Firefighters arrived and saw hot magnesium dripping from the car's engine and used dirt and a special foam to put out the fire and keep it from spreading to thick brush in the area, said Todd Cupell, a spokesman for the Corona de Tucson Fire Department.
The fire "had a lot of potential for being very dangerous" because of explosions, he said.
The magnesium was burning so brightly that workers at the scene had to turn away, Cianciolo said.
Martinez Vasquez refused to give his name to officers, but he was identified through a Border Patrol fingerprint database. He suffered bumps and scrapes, and was treated at University Medical Center before he was booked into the Pima County jail on a charge of felony flight from a law enforcement vehicle. The investigation will continue, Oien said.
Everyone was surprised that the driver walked away, and "we're very fortunate no one else got hurt in this," Oien said.
"The sad part of it is he endangered himself and everybody on the road, when he probably would have been issued a citation and maybe released to Border Patrol if he would have pulled over and stopped," he said.
It was unclear Wednesday why Martinez Vasquez was fleeing from officers, Oien said, but the suspect had been arrested by the Border Patrol four times previously.
High-speed pursuits are fairly common for Highway Patrol officers, Oien said. Statewide, a chase occurs almost daily. Most happen at night and end quickly, either when the driver pulls over or the officer calls off the chase, he said.
There are more chases in Southern Arizona than in the central or northern regions of the state, possibly because people- and drug-smuggling operations work close to the border, Oien said. He noted the number of chases involving illegal immigrants has increased in the past few years.
● Contact reporter Becky Pallack at 629-9412 or at bpallack@azstarnet.com.
I used to own a 1972 Impala. It was ivory in color. We used to call it The White Whale.
Its rear chrome bumper weighed more than a Yugo.
Yeah, the Impalas now are quite easy to twist, deform, and worse.
When they first stuck the Impala moniker on it, my reaction was to say, "THAT is NOT an Impala.."
Protect our borders and coastlines from all foreign invaders!
Be Ever Vigilant!
Minutemen Patriots ~ Bump!
Makes you think he KNOWS he is guilty of something much worse than speeding and being an illegal alien. The cops just don't know it yet.
and.....let go to prey on the law abiding, I swear that this generation of the law enforcement community worships criminals. That way they get to extort more money from the taxpayers.
The problem started when they mandated court appointed defense counsel. Too many lawyers in the system.
Let's hope. these days it seems to take on act of congress for the critters to get off their butts and do something.
Yep. Those were the days. Remember the 1967 Impala Super Sport with the 427 V-8? A rare bird. Zoom zoom.
My mom would likely be more familiar with that year and model.
I was 5 in 1980, and there were a few old Impalas still going strong then.
Don't recall if I've ever run across the 67 Super Sport model.
Ran across a few Chevelle's here and there, and the odd Pontiac LeMans convertible with some 'modifications' to it.
(Mom was the car enthusiast. Dad was the leadfoot...)
You'd have remembered it if you had.
It's my second favorite coupe...right behind the 1964 Thunderbird.
"Fiery crash ends chase on I-10"
Fiery crashes will do it every time.
Ran across the 67, but not the susper sport model.
(I think.)
Heck.. I think both of those could drive THROUGH today's cars with minimal damage.
I expect these scenes will become as routine as suicide bombings in Israel and our government officials will be looking everywhere for answers except at the source of the problem.
He just wanted to get to Dane's house to do the work Americans won't do.
Impala Flambe! Yummmm
Probly worth in excess of $50,000 today!The old "muscle-cars"are very valuable.I REALLY miss two of my cars.My 1965 GTO and my 1964 356 C!!If I find a "magic lamp",those are my first two!!!!!
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