Pursuit that began in Ventura County called off after driver crosses San Ysidro border

A law enforcement vehicle pursuit that began Monday morning in Thousand Oaks ended when the allegedly stolen van crossed the U.S.-Mexico border at San Ysidro, investigators said.

The pursuit stemmed from a report around 10:35 a.m. of a woman driving a stolen van on Hillcrest Drive near Erbes Road, Ventura County Sheriff’s Office Capt. John Hajducko said.

About 20 minutes later, deputies in Moorpark spotted the vehicle and attempted to pull the van over, Hajducko said. The driver refused to stop, and a pursuit began in the Simi Valley area.

Once the van with deputies in tow reached the Sepulveda Pass area, Hajducko said the pursuit was taken over by California Highway Patrol officers. Hajducko said deputies continued to follow a small distance behind state officers in case the pursuit came to an end and the suspect needed to be taken back to Ventura County.

The pursuit headed down state Route 118, merged onto Interstate 101 and then transitioned onto south Interstate 405 headed toward San Diego, Hajducko said. The San Diego County Sheriff’s Office ASTREA helicopter began flying over the pursuit once the van entered the local jurisdiction, investigators said.

CHP Officer Michael Wessendorf said CHP officers attempted to stop the van by using spike strips on the freeway. But the driver, who was reaching an average speed of about 80 mph while traveling through San Diego County, swerved out of the way of the obstacles that would have likely disabled the vehicle, Wessendorf said.

CHP officers, Ventura County sheriff’s deputies and the ASTREA helicopter followed the vehicle until the driver was within two freeway exits of the San Ysidro border crossing, according to officials. Around 1:25 p.m., the van successfully crossed into Mexico after being pursued for about 180 miles, investigators said.

Hajducko said law enforcement was not immediately aware of where the driver headed after crossing the border, but said investigators would be able to pick up the van — and potentially arrest the driver — if it returned north.