A man behind the wheel of a suspected stolen Tesla drove onto the Pacific Beach boardwalk in San Diego and struck a woman before he hopped out and was chased by bystanders Monday afternoon.
The 25-year-old woman was struck by the electric vehicle around 12:40 p.m. at the intersection of Thomas and Reed avenues and was transported to a hospital in critical condition, according to the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department.
Around 12:20 p.m., San Diego Police Department officers responded to a report of a stolen Tesla that its owner was tracking. About 10 minutes later, officers located the Tesla driving south on Mission Boulevard. Officers attempted to stop the driver, but he did not stop and the chase began, police said.
During the pursuit, the driver struck a San Diego Gas and Electric transformer and continued toward the Pacific Beach boardwalk, SDPD said.
“Due to the increasing risk to public safety, a field supervisor terminated the pursuit,” it said.
The stolen Tesla then traveled onto the boardwalk northbound from Pacific Beach Drive, driving fast near pedestrians.
“I just heard some sounds down there, commotion like something hit something, and obviously he hit a gal over here. And so that was the sound that I heard,” witness Miguel Valle said. “Then a moment later I see a navy blue Tesla flying by me at least 50 mph, trying to get away from the pursuit.”
Another woman was walking on the boardwalk but jumped out of the way right as the driver sped by, surveillance video shows. She was evaluated by emergency responders, SDFD said.
“A lot of people dove out of the way very quickly, and it really could have been so much worse,” SDFD spokesperson Candace Hadley said.
“This is a very busy boardwalk. Having someone drive through this area is incredibly frightening,” Hadley added.
Multiple people witnessed the car driving onto the boardwalk. One beachgoer from Santee described walking on the boardwalk when the car came rushing by him.
“I was in the middle of the path and I launched myself off my bike,” Alex Srour said.
The man driving the Tesla stopped the vehicle in front of the Baja Beach Cafe, and Srour ran after him, recording the chase on his Meta sunglasses, which have a built-in camera.
His video shows a couple of other people chasing after the man as he runs into a nearby parking lot and falls to the ground. Srour appears to pin him to the ground, and a verbal exchange ensues.
In the video, Srour yells at the man to get on the ground, and the man appears to plead with Srour.
Srour, along with other pedestrians, detained the man until officers arrived and took him into custody, SDPD said.
SDPD is conducting a felony hit-and-run investigation into the incident. The driver was suspected of being under the influence, police said.
Lifeguards initially responded to the incident, quickly followed by SDFD and SDPD. A woman who jumped out of the way is all right, the fire department said.
Police blocked off the area of Thomas Avenue and Mission Boulevard near Open Bar for several hours following the incident. By 4 p.m., the boardwalk had reopened.
