SAN DIEGO - A two-hour pursuit of a pickup truck carrying a stolen ATM yanked out of a CVS pharmacy in Mission Viejo came to an end when authorities flattened its tires on Interstate 5 in Carlsbad today and arrested the driver and a passenger.
A sheriff's deputy on his way to work spotted a group of thieves stealing the cash machine at the CVS at 26851 Trabuco Road (map A) about 5 a.m., said Jim Amormino, a spokesman for the Orange County Sheriff's Department.
The deputy watched as the four bandits yanked out the pharmacy's doors with a cable attached to a dark-blue pickup, then used the same method to pull the ATM from its moorings, Amormino said.
The deputy reported the crime, and other sheriff's personnel soon caught up with the truck, which had been reported stolen in San Diego.
The driver of the pickup refused to yield, and a chase ensued through several Orange County neighborhoods, including Rancho Santa Margarita and Ladera Ranch.
The fleeing motorist then got onto state Route 241 and eventually merged onto southbound I-5. At that point, the California Highway Patrol joined in the chase, which reached speeds in excess of 100 mph.
Just before 6 a.m., a spike strip authorities had laid across the freeway flattened the truck's tires, CHP public affairs Officer Eric Newbury said. Still, the driver -- later identified as 41-year-old Tracy L. Kendall -- continued trying to elude the pursuing officers, driving at about 35 mph on bare wheel rims, authorities said.
Finally, just north of Palomar Airport Road (map B), the truck caught fire and rolled to a halt.
Two of the men riding in the pickup then jumped out and managed to escape on foot, but officers arrested Kendall and an unidentified passenger.
Orange County sheriff's personnel took custody of the two men, the damaged truck and the stolen ATM, Newbury said.
All southbound lanes in the area were open again by about 7 a.m., according to the Highway Patrol.
