CHP MML File Photo
Sonora, CA – A highspeed motorcycle chase stretching from Jamestown to Sonora ended with the rider being arrested at gunpoint.
While passing a CHP patrol vehicle on Fifth Avenue in Jamestown on Tuesday afternoon, the officer noticed that the 1996 Yamaha motorcycle/dirt bike had no rear license plate and began following it. The rider abruptly made a U-turn and hit the gas. He then sailed through a red light turning right on to Highway 108/49 towards Sonora.
The officer, in hot pursuit, observed the motorcycle going over the double yellow lines to pass other vehicles as well as driving on the right shoulder. The chase reached speeds in excess of 75 miles per hour. Then suddenly at the Stockton Road exit, the driver pulled over gave himself up. Officer Steve Machado recounts, “The officer didn’t know what the intention of the motorcyclist was. He put him out at gunpoint and had him get into what we call a prone position so he could be taken into custody.”
The rider was identified as 44-year-old Alejandro Hernandez of Sonora. He had a suspended license, but Machado tells Clarke Broadcasting no drugs or alcohol were found on him. Machado speculates he may have stopped to avoid crashing, “I don’t know if he was just a bad rider or at that speed the smaller bikes can’t maneuver very well so, he might have been struggling a little bit.”
Hernandez was arrested for felony evading and driving on a suspended license.
Written by Tracey Petersen.
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