Man arrested after two high-speed chases across Sonoma County
A man was arrested after leading law enforcement on high speed chases through Santa Rosa and Rohnert Park before overturning his Jeep early Wednesday morning, the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office said.
Christian Nelson, 21, was towing a 'poorly attached trailer' with his Jeep when a deputy spotted the vehicle on Commerce Boulevard in Rohnert Park around 1:15 a.m. Wednesday, the sheriff's office said. The deputy attempted to stop Nelson over the concerns that the trailer was sparking and swaying, but the trailer detached and hit a curb and Nelson fled the scene, law enforcement said.
Nelson drove toward Golf Course Drive, and while on Roberts Lake Road, reached 75 miles per hour in a 40 miles per hour zone, police said. The deputy then saw the driver stop at Santa Rosa Avenue and turn the wrong way on an off-ramp onto northbound Highway 101, prompting the deputy to stop the pursuit, the sheriff's office said.
A Santa Rosa police officer then spotted Nelson's Jeep near Santa Rosa and Bellevue avenues minutes later, prompting a second high-speed chase with law enforcement through Santa Rosa and Rohnert Park, the sheriff's office said. Nelson was driving between 60 and 100 miles per hour, officers said, and violated multiple traffic laws, driving recklessly.
When Nelson swerved at an oncoming police car, a deputy had to serve to 'narrowly' avoid a head-on collision, authorities said.
Nelson's car then hit a curb and flipped over, the sheriff's office said.
Nelson left the Jeep and continued to flee on foot, with deputies and a K-9 chasing and catching him, the sheriff's office said.
Nelson was taken to a local hospital for treatment before being booked into the Sonoma County Jail on suspicion of felony assault with a deadly weapon, resisting arrest, evading, trailer theft, possession of stolen property and displaying a false license plate during a felony, law enforcement said.
The trailer — which prompted the initial attempt to stop Nelson — was later found to have been stolen, though the theft had not been reported, police said.
Nelson's bail is set at $340,000, and he remains in custody, the sheriff's office said.
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