The driver is a murder suspect who led a chase from Temecula to Pomona. John Cadiz Klemack reports April, 7, 2021.
A driver suspected in a murder and accused in an assault on an officer led a chase from San Diego to Riverside and eventually LA County Tuesday afternoon before the chase ended in a crash.
The California Highway Patrol confirmed the man arrested was a murder suspect and was wanted in connection with an assault on an officer, as well.
NBCLA's sister station in Bakersfield, KGET, reported that the suspect, Michael Caleb Reed, 35, was wanted for a deadly shooting in Oildale. The U.S. Marshalls confirmed that Reed was arrested in Pomona and is accused of killing Michael Lewis, 40.
Reed has a lengthy criminal history, according to KGET, which includes past arrests for rape, burglary, possession of a firearm and DUI. Reed was also arrested following a pursuit in the Bay Area last year that left a Eureka police officer injured.
Tuesday's chase began around 5:30 p.m. in the San Diego area, heading north on the 215 Freeway toward Riverside County.
During the pursuit, the suspect was traveling on the westbound 60 Freeway in the Chino area before exiting the freeway.
The driver was then traveling on streets in the Pomona area.
U.S. & World
The driver was traveling on the wrong side of the road on Indian Hill Boulevard around 6:20 p.m. when he swerved near a truck driver, causing the truck and a sedan to collide. The pursuit driver continued on unscathed.
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The driver also pulled into a 99 Cents Store parking lot, clipping another truck before exiting and hitting the gas, traveling at 70 mph on the street.
Authorities also reported a few people being dropped off at some point during the chase before the driver continued on.
The driver also appeared to toss objects or papers from the window at several points during the chase.
The chase ultimately came to an end in Ontario at Holt Boulevard and San Antonio Avenue. The driver pulling out of a parking lot slammed into a big rig.
The big rig driver, Mike Shabaan, told NBCLA that he purposely attempted to block the driver's path but didn't expect the driver to hit his truck.
"He hit me pretty hard," Shabaan said. "He gunned it."
Once surrounded by more than a dozen patrol units, the driver and a female passenger were taken into custody.
