Petaluma to Richmond Chase Leaves Police Empty-Handed

PETALUMA - A suspected car thief and an accomplice escaped police and the California Highway Patrol after a pursuit from Petaluma to Richmond on Tuesday.

A resident of Quarry Street in Petaluma called police and said a male got out of a white van and stole their Honda. The caller said their wallet and car keys had been recently stolen in Marin County.

Petaluma Police Officer Paul Accornero spotted the Honda in the Quarry Street area and pursued it. Police say a second officer chased the white van as it and the Honda drove south on U.S. Highway 101.

Accornero terminated the pursuit of the stolen Honda when he felt the pursuit would endanger public safety.

Knowing the white van was still being pursued by the second Petaluma officer, Officer Accornero deployed a spike strip near a bridge abutment to try to stop the fleeing vehicle.

Police believe the spike strip malfunctioned, as the van's tires did not flatten after driving over it.

Officers continued to pursue the van, then turned the pursuit over to the California Highway Patrol when the suspect vehicle traveled onto the connector ramp to Interstate Highway 580 and the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge.

The CHP ended its pursuit when the van drove onto Richmond city streets with pedestrians in the area, Petaluma police said, and the suspects escaped.

-Bay City News, image via ShutterStock