UPDATE:

• More Details on This Morning’s Wild Car Chase Through Eureka; One Arrested on Burglary, Evasion Charges

PREVIOUSLY:

• SCANNER TRAFFIC INDICATES: Police Chase Around Eureka

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A police chase around the Eureka outskirts ended this morning when the suspect vehicle — a stolen car towing a trailer — crashed into another car near the intersection of 14th and F streets, sending an innocent driver to the hospital.

The incident began just after 8 a.m., when a neighbor notified police of a suspected house burglary on the 7500 block of Elk River Court. The neighbor followed the suspects’ vehicle — a blue SUV towing a white cargo trailer — down H Street toward town, and eventually, after determining that the SUV trailer had been reported stolen, the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office deputies and Eureka Police Department officers gave pursuit. 

With lights and sirens blaring, police chased the vehicle through the the city at moderate speeds — down Harris Street, onto Harrison, down Myrtle Avenue, and around and around. For a moment it looked as though the suspects would head toward Old Arcata Road. But the chase turned back into Eureka. The suspect driver crashed into another car at the intersection of Harris and Harrison, but kept running. Police gave up pursuit when the suspects drove into oncoming traffic.

But a Eureka police officer spotted the SUV shortly afterward around J Street, and after a few turns cops were able to lay down a spike strip in its path. The suspect drove over the spike strip, popping his tires, but continued on. Finally, the driver crashed into a white Nissan Sentra at 14th and F. The SUV and trailer rolled over and landed on their sides. Police held the two occupants of the car — a man and a woman — at gunpoint until they could be taken into custody.

The driver of the Nissan was taken to the hospital with minor to moderate injuries, according to Eureka Police Capt. Brian Stephens, who spoke with reporters at the scene.