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Driver Sets Moving Car on Fire, Jumps Out During Calif. Police Chase

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A man in a Scion hatchback is accused of hitting two pedestrians and an empty stroller before leading Vacaville police on a wild chase that ended with the vehicle on fire and the driver in the hospital.

November 24, 2021, By Michael McGough – Source The Sacramento Bee

A reckless driver struck two pedestrians and an empty stroller, led law enforcement on a chase down Interstate 80, lit the vehicle he was driving on fire and jumped out as it was still moving before law enforcement apprehended him, Vacaville police said this week.

The wild incident started around 6:30 p.m. Monday near a Starbucks on East Monte Vista Avenue, the Vacaville Police Department said in a news release.

Multiple 9-1-1 callers told dispatchers that a white Scion hatchback struck two pedestrians and a stroller; responding officers learned the stroller was empty, and that neither pedestrian was seriously hurt.

Dispatchers then received additional calls reporting that the same vehicle appeared to be “intentionally trying to run over people in the parking lot” of the Walmart Neighborhood Market on Nut Tree Road, police wrote, with surveillance video later confirming a reckless driver appeared to be attempting to hit pedestrians.

An officer located the Scion at the nearby intersection of Elmira and Leisure Town roads, with its driver door open. The driver, identified as 34-year-old Jaron King of Davis, was “at the driver’s side door of another nearby vehicle,” but got back into the Scion as the officer arrived, Vacaville police wrote.

The hatchback then fled onto eastbound I-80 at high speed, passing through Dixon and Davis and traveling into West Sacramento. The California Highway Patrol took over the pursuit.

“As the Scion passed Harbor Blvd. officers noticed smoke coming from the car and the vehicle starting to catch on fire,” police wrote. “Shortly thereafter, Mr. King jumped from the moving Scion and was quickly taken into custody by responding officers … Further investigation revealed evidence Mr. King lit his own vehicle on fire prior to jumping out of it.”

King was taken to a hospital, where he continues to be treated, and was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, felony evading and attempted murder, according to the Vacaville Police Department.

The department is seeking two additional pedestrians who narrowly avoided being struck in the Walmart parking lot, as well as occupants of a car King contacted at the Elmira and Leisure Town intersection.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Police Department at 707-469-4826.

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(c)2021 The Sacramento Bee (Sacramento, Calif.)

Visit The Sacramento Bee (Sacramento, Calif.) at www.sacbee.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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