By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com
The California Highway Patrol said that one of their officers was forced to shoot a driver in Chico early this morning after a wild pursuit.
The incident began when the Butte County Sheriff's Office requested that the CHP take over a pursuit of a pickup in the Durham area, south of Chico. Officers said that the truck was a "suspicious vehicle and speeding."
Chico police deployed a spike strip at Dayton Road and Hegan Lane, north of downtown, which flattened both front tires on the pickup.
The driver, identified as Jeffrey Daniel Crone, 32, of Oroville, continued to drive into Chico where he lost control of his vehicle at West Fifth Street and hit a parked pickup occupied by one person, the CHP said.
As CHP officers tried to gain control of the suspect, Crone backed into a CHP squad car and then went forward striking the parked pickup again, pushing it onto the raised curb, the CHP said.
A CHP news release stated that at this point the officer feared for his safety and for that of the person in the parked pickup.
The officer fired his handgun, striking Crone in the upper and lower body, the CHP said.
Crone was taken into custody and arrested at 2 a.m. He was transported to Enloe Medical Center. No information was available on his condition.
The occupant of the parked vehicle apparently was not seriously hurt.
Call The Bee's Bill Lindelof, (916) 321-1079.
About Comments
Reader comments on Sacbee.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Sacramento Bee. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "report abuse" button below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.