UPDATE: Police Arrest Man Who Led High-Speed Chase through Fremont and Union City

Updated Tuesday, March 15, 2011, 2:51 p.m.

Fremont police arrested a man Tuesday afternoon who they say evaded authorities in a high-speed chase that tore through Fremont and Union City shortly after 1 p.m. Monday, police said.

Jeremy Ferreira, 27, was arrested at a friend's house near Camden Street and Eggers Drive in Fremont around 2:15 p.m. today, said Detective Bill Veteran of the Fremont Police Department. Ferreira is a transient well known to local authorities, Veteran said.

Ferreira led authorities on a chase that stemmed from an incident Monday morning when Hayward police attempted to pull him over in a traffic stop. Ferreira, who at the time had a warrant for drug possession, instead sped off in a 1988 Ford Mustang, Veteran said. Witnesses described the car as being gray in color.

Fremont police later spotted the vehicle around 1 p.m. and tried to stop Ferreira at the intersection of J Street and Iron Horse Lane in Fremont, Veteran said. That's when authorities say Ferreira got out of the car, got back in and tried to run over a police officer, ramming a police car before speeding off.

Authorities gave chase as Ferreira raced through Fremont's Niles district and into Union City, entering at Alvarado-Niles Road. Union City police units assisted in the pursuit before Ferreira fled into Hayward and was lost, police said.

"It sounds like he got too far in front of them and it got too dangerous,” Veteran said.

“The suspect was moving,” said Sgt. Travis Souza of the Union City Police Department. “At one time, [officers] said he was doing upward of 100 mph.”

A citizen reported almost being struck by the speeding Mustang while heading westbound on Whipple Road around 1:10 p.m.

“It was pretty scary,” said Theresa Riojas, a Union City resident.

Riojas was about to make a left turn from Whipple Road onto Central Avenue when the vehicle raced past her.

“All of a sudden, a car came rushing past me at 100 miles per hour on the left side,” Riojas said.

The car was going so fast that she didn’t have time to stop. The car simply swerved around her, she said.

Ferreira continued down Whipple Road and onto Industrial Parkway. Following officers lost sight of the Mustang at the intersection of Hesperian Boulevard and Industrial Parkway West, Veteran said.

Ferreira, who now faces charges for assault with a deadly weapon and evading police, was arrested peaceably and without incident, Veteran said.