By Chelsea Phua and Bill Lindelof
cphua@sacbee.com
A vehicle chase from Rancho Cordova to the Oak Park area of Sacramento ended Monday night with two suspects involved in the chase arrested and a deputy injured, Sacramento County Sheriff's Department officials report.
Sgt. Tim Curran, department spokesman, said that shortly after 8:50 p.m., the Rancho Cordova Crime Suppression Unit was on routine patrol when officers spotted three men on Moraine Circle conducting an alleged drug deal.
Officers arrested Jeffrey Wadleigh, 46, while the other two men fled in a silver pickup truck. Wadleigh was later booked into Sacramento County Jail on suspicion of possession of controlled substances.
The alleged drug deal triggered a pursuit that reached 80 mph on residential streets. The chase into Sacramento ended about 20 minutes later at San Jose Way and Second Avenue in Oak Park, where a Sacramento County Sheriff's deputy assigned to the Rancho Cordova Police Department rear-ended the pickup.
The suspect who was driving the pickup had turned southbound on San Jose Way from Second Avenue when he realized he had turned down a dead-end street and stopped.
The deputy was pursuing close behind and was not able to stop in time. The deputy, a 38-year-old man who is an 11-year veteran of the force, was taken to an area hospital. He was knocked unconscious and suffered minor head, neck and back injuries.
The pickup's passenger, Vance Hernandez, 34, was taken into custody while the driver fled.
Hernandez was arrested on suspicion of possession for sale of controlled substances and the sale or transport of controlled substances.
Iron, a 3-year-old Sheriff's dog, found the pickup driver in the back seat of a Ford Explorer in the back yard of a home in the 2700 block Santa Cruz Way, said Iron's handler, Deputy Mark Limbird.
That suspect was identified as 30-year-old Alfredo Lopez. Deputies said he faces felony charges of evading police.
An Oak Park resident, Debi Licciardo, said she came out to see what was happening when she heard the police sirens. She said she saw the suspects head toward a dead end on San Jose Way.
"They probably didn't know it was a dead end," she said, adding that after the crash, "The cop car was smoking."
Call The Bee's Chelsea Phua, (916) 321-1132.
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Vehicle chase ends in Sacramento with arrests, deputy injured - April 26, 2010
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