Suspected DUI driver arrested on San Diego beach after three police pursuits
A suspected impaired driver took San Diego police through three separate pursuits Sunday morning before the chase ended on a stretch of Pacific Beach sand, with onlookers watching from the shoreline as officers closed…
Key takeaways
- A suspected impaired driver, Griffin Charles Foy, 25, was arrested Sunday morning after leading San Diego police through three separate pursuits that ended on the sand in Pacific Beach.
- Foy was booked into San Diego Central Jail on charges of felony evading a peace officer with wanton disregard for safety, obstructing or resisting a peace officer, and driving under the influence of drugs.
- The incident began just before 7:30 a.m. when police received multiple calls reporting a tan or gold Nissan Frontier doing donuts in parking lots and driving erratically in Pacific Beach.
- Police terminated the first two pursuits over the driver's increasing wanton disregard for public safety, then used the department's ABLE helicopter to track the truck onto the beach.
- No one was injured, and Foy surrendered outside the truck with his hands raised and was taken into custody without further incident.
A suspected impaired driver took San Diego police through three separate pursuits Sunday morning before the chase ended on a stretch of Pacific Beach sand, with onlookers watching from the shoreline as officers closed in. Griffin Charles Foy, 25, was booked into San Diego Central Jail on charges of felony evading a peace officer with wanton disregard for safety, obstructing or resisting a peace officer, and driving under the influence of drugs. Police said no one was injured.
The sequence started just before 7:30 a.m. when the San Diego Police Department received multiple calls from witnesses reporting erratic driving in the Pacific Beach neighborhood. Witnesses described a man at the wheel of a tan or gold Nissan Frontier doing donuts in parking lots, nearly striking other vehicles, and possibly hitting curbs and a retaining wall. Officers arrived within minutes, spotted the truck heading west toward the ocean, and attempted a traffic stop. The driver fled.
How three pursuits ended on the sand
Police called off the first chase, citing what they described as the driver's "increasing wanton disregard to public safety." Officers located the Nissan again, but the driver failed to yield a second time and triggered another pursuit that was also terminated. At that point the truck was wanted in connection with felony evading, and the department spread officers across the Pacific Beach area to hold a visual on it.
The break came when the department's ABLE (Airborne Law Enforcement) helicopter arrived overhead. Officers held off on any further ground contact until the aircraft had a track on the vehicle. The helicopter then followed the Nissan as it drove onto the beach and toward the water, guiding units on the ground to a fixed position.
Video from the scene shows the pickup sitting on the sand, beachgoers gathered nearby, and officers moving in on foot. Foy was outside the truck with his hands raised when they reached him. A police K-9 was present but was not deployed. Officers described the stop as high-risk given the nature of the alleged violations and Foy's conduct throughout. He was taken into custody without further incident.
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Filed via foxnews.com