(Zack Warburg / Noozhawk video)
The driver of a stolen car led authorities on a harrowing high-speed chase back and forth on Santa Barbara County’s South Coast late Thursday.
The nearly hour-long pursuit ended in Old Town Goleta just before midnight when a law enforcement vehicle maneuvered the car into a collision.
Three people — two men and a woman — were taken into custody, authorities said.
The pursuit by sheriff’s deputies began shortly before 11 p.m. on Winchester Canyon Road in western Goleta, then proceeded southbound on Highway 101 into Santa Barbara.
The driver of the white Toyota Camry, which had been reported stolen, sped around Santa Barbara’s Lower Eastside and parts of the Riviera before getting back on the freeway and racing almost to Carpinteria.
The chase, which reached speeds of 95 mph, was taken over by California Highway Patrol units when the driver reversed course and headed northbound on the freeway.
The entourage sped back through Santa Barbara and Goleta and out along the Gaviota coast before turning around again near the Tajiguas Landfill, about 15 miles west of Goleta.
At 11:49 p.m., the vehicle took the Fairview Avenue exit ramp and headed into Old Town Goleta.
A short time later, the CHP stopped the Camry by performing what is known as a “PIT maneuver” on Kinman Avenue, in a residential neighborhood just south of Armitos Avenue, one block west of South Kellogg Avenue.
(A PIT maneuver, or precision immobilization technique, is a pursuit tactic by which a pursuing car can force a fleeing car to abruptly turn sideways, causing the driver to lose control and stop.)
At that point, the three people in the sedan were taken into custody.
The driver was identified by the CHP as Andrew Mario Calzada, 21, of Santa Barbara. He was arrested on suspicion of auto theft, possession of stolen property, disobeying a police officer, driving under the influence and being under the influence of a controlled substance.
Also arrested was Isabelle Estella Varela, 18, of Goleta, on suspicion of auto theft, possession of stolen property and being under the influence of a controlled substance, the CHP said.
Both were booked into County Jail, and remained in custody Friday.
Bail for Calzada was set at $75,000, while Varela’s bail was set at $25,000, according to Kelly Hoover, a sheriff’s spokeswoman.
A third person in the vehicle was released without being charged, the CHP said.
There were reports that at least one of the suspects was bitten by a police K-9, but a CHP officer later told Noozhawk that was not the case.
County fire crews were dispatched to the scene, along with an American Medical Response ambulance, but no injuries were reported.
A county helicopter also was involved in the pursuit.
— Noozhawk executive editor Tom Bolton can be reached at tbolton@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
