A driver who led authorities in a 100-mile-an-hour chase drove from a cliff into the Pacific Ocean on Tuesday in Santa Cruz, California, police authorities said.
The chase began around 3:30 p.m. near Davenport, a town about 11 kilometers north of Santa Cruz, when sheriff’s deputies who responded to the report of a man firing a pistol in the air encountered a suspect. He had just robbed someone, the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
Officers chased him as the motorist headed south toward Santa Cruz at speeds of more than 100 mph, the office said. Officers suspended the chase as they approached the city over safety concerns for passers-by, sheriff’s officials said.
The suspect continued driving and ended up in the Pacific Ocean less than a mile west of the city’s famous Steamer Lane beach, the office said.
“He ended up driving over the cliff, into the waves,” the Santa Cruz Police Department said in its own statement.
The department, whose officials responded to the beach, said the man got out of the vehicle and ended up on dry land.
“The suspect was safely detained after exiting the stolen vehicle while stumbling onto the rocky shoreline,” the department said.
The suspect’s name was not released. No injuries were reported.
