High-speed chase ends in Petaluma-area crash, search for suspects

Police were searching Tuesday night for two men who they said led officers on a high-speed vehicle chase from Santa Rosa to Petaluma on Highway 101 before crashing their car on Lakeville Highway.

The chase began at 9:10 p.m. when Santa Rosa police officers spotted a speeding car, later identified as a black Mercedes, that was darting through highway traffic near Airport Boulevard, said Sonoma County sheriff's Sgt. Mark Fuston.

The car failed to pull over and led police on a southbound chase on Highway 101, Fuston said. Emergency scanner reports described the suspect vehicle hitting speeds of 120 mph.

The car was spotted again around Petaluma and eventually exited at Lakeville Road. Officers subsequently discovered the car had crashed about four miles east of Highway 101, on the side of Lakeville Highway, Fuston said. The car had a blown tire.

The vehicle was registered to an Emeryville address and had not been reported stolen, Fuston said.

A man fitting the description of one of the suspects asked a nearby homeowner where the highway was and fled on foot, he said. Scanner reports described the search as centered in the 5600 block of Lakeville Highway.

Santa Rosa and Petaluma police officers and Sonoma County Sheriff's deputies were establishing a search perimeter as of 10 p.m., Fuston said. A CHP helicopter was assisting in the search, according to scanner reports.