The driver of a stolen vehicle with a woman and infant as passengers led Guadalupe police on a chase through the small city, where a power line was knocked down, before the minivan ended up on its side in an alley Thursday morning.
Public Safety Director Gary Hoving said the blue Toyota minivan stolen was earlier Thursday from Division Street and Highway 1 in southern San Luis Obispo County and later spotted by the owner’s friend near 2nd Street and Guadalupe Street.
Officers from the Guadalupe Police Department soon began following the vehicle, but the driver took maneuvers to evade officers by turning onto different streets and alleys.
“We then turned on our emergency lighting, it accelerated and a pursuit was born,” Hoving said.
The vehicle traveled down Tognazzini Avenue, which is a dead-end, and turned into a resident’s property as the driver tried to travel through the yard to the alley, but hit the power pole guide line.
“The vehicle went straight up in the air and then it flipped over,” Hoving said.
The pursuit ended in the alley north of Fifth Street near Campodonico Avenue. The power line was knocked down in the alley south of Fifth Street.
The male driver, Angel Lopez of Guadalupe, was arrested on a felony charge.
A female passenger, whose name wasn’t available, was injured and taken to Marian Regional Medical Center for treatment. She is being arrested for suspicion of child endangerment.
An infant in the car was taken to the hospital to be examined.
Downed power lines left some Guadalupe residents and businesses without power Thursday.
Pacific Gas & Electric Company reported the outage affected 361 customers.
Police were assisted by the California Highway Patrol and Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department and Fire Department.
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.